The Ties That Bind
by BioshockFanGirl16078
Summary: Follow Yugi and Atem many years after the anime series has ended as they encounter new enemines, old faces, and new friends in Domino City as it had been back then.
1. Opening

Opening

Warning: Mature Content, Out of Characterness Behavior Being Presented

Okay, so, this is a fanfic called "The Ties That Bind" featuring Yami Yugi, Atem, Seto Kaiba, and other characters I either made up or are connected to the show in some way, or are actual characters. No yaoi. Only hentai here, folks. If you're looking for yaoi, go look somewhere else...

The story behind this fanfic is that I wrote a fanfic similar to this...well, not really, but still, and I can't seem to remember exactly what I did with it. So I decided to try and re-write it...but, it didn't neceassarily go along with everything that happened in the original fanfic to my memory, but I still wanted to keep this going. Some of the chapters in this fanfic are longer than others because I was at first writing this on paper and I didn't size it up good enough for when I began typing this, and I just wanted to make the chapters longer and longer to where I wanted them.

Yu-Gi-Oh! does not belong to me, nor do any of the charcters in this fanfic other than my own which are:

Atsu Kesi The Ambrosia Siblings Carina's Pack members The Four Alices The Dreamer Shira Zira And The Seven Guardians from the Heavens

Again, anything in this fanfic that is considered suggestive is not to be taken that way nor is it considered yaoi...so don't take it like that. e.e' 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Rain fell heavily over the streets of Domino City and faint sounds of thunder and wind were blended in with the naturally busy noises of Domino. In Domino City Cemetary, Yugi Muto stood in the rain in front of his deceased grandfather's gravestone with his canine companion, Little Ann, standing beside him and with his drenched bangs hung over his eyes. Ann, a four-year-old Irish Setter with firey red fur and brown eyes, gave out a long howl that she'd been holding in and Yugi closed his violet eyes to keep himself from howling along with her. Yugi was 23, 5' 8", well muscle-toned, had grown more blonde bangs while his eyes had slightly slanted and his eyelashes grew, had watched as his facial shape triangled itself over the years and heard his own voice deepen, and was now completly alone. The hang had split up just five years ago, Tea going to the United States and never calling, Joey moving in with Mai and pursuing his education, and Tristan falling off the face of the earth.

"...Just you and me now, Ann..." Yugi said faintly.

Little Ann looked up at Yugi in response and comfortly nudged his hand, wagging her tail as she saw Yugi give a slight smile. He then gave out a slow sigh and slid his right hand out of his black trench coat pocket, holding the end of Ann's leash that wasn't hooked to her dark pink collar in his right hand, then slowly walked with her away from the tombstone that bared his grandfather's name. Yugi slowed to a stop seeing Seto Kaiba, the last person he expected to see after losing five years of contact, waiting at the gate entrance to the cemetary and the two locked eyes for a moment silently. Kaiba seemed to not have changed at all, besides the gentler look in his eyes, and Yugi also noticed a tint of compassion in Kaiba's blue eyes. He was still 6' 1" with broad shoulders and a well muscular figure, and had an adult-like matured face with brown hair that was still cut short.

"...Kaiba..." Yugi said softly to break the silence.

"...I heard about your grandfather, but...I...I was late..." Kaiba said with his arms casually crossed.

"...At least you came...no one else did..." Yugi mumbled in reply.

Kaiba sighed softly, "I know...look, the storm's going to get worse so...I'll drive you home.

"Kaiba, you don't-"

"I insist." the billionair interupted.

Yugi blinked and stared at him for awhile in silence, then nodded reluctantly and walked with Ann over to Kaiba's limo that was parked right outside the gate. Kaiba followed behind and only passed Yugi to open the back right side door for him. The younger male unhooked Ann from her leash and gently helped her into the vehicle before he then lowered inside and sat by the window. In the leather seat across from him was nineteen-year-old Mokuba Kaiba, 5' 6" with broad shoulders like his older sibling, a fine leanly muscular build with his black hair now running down betwen his shoulder blades, and his facial features more mature. The younger Kaiba held out a towel without a word and Yugi gently took it with a thankful nod before drying his hair while Kaiba moved into the vehicle beside him.

Kaiba closed the car door, then looked at Yugi, "You still live in the game shop?"

"Until the government kicks me out..." Yugi replied with a faint chuckle, though Kaiba slowly frowned at his response.

After Atem's departure to the afterlife, Yugi and the gang became distant in the months that follwed before finally splitting up and going their seperate ways. Two years afterward, Solomon Muto's health began to decline and the game shop was suffering heavily and finally closed down just weeks after Solomon was admitted to the hospital after a severe heart attack. With the old man's heart weakening, Solomon remained in hospital care while Yugi spent most of his time at his side with Ann, bought as a puppy at seven-weeks-old, hidden in his backpack and fed/watered when the nurses left the room. Three long years of fighting and many medications and piling medical conditions was all it took for Solomon to finally flat-line and Yugi to finally become broken. Kaiba was at reach, but Yugi didn't want to be a bother.

"...Driver...drive to the game shop..." Kaiba said softly.

The driver obediantly nodded without a word and put the limo in gear before driving onto the road. The drive to what remained of the game shop was silent and Yugi stroked Ann's head all the way to his home while it lay comfortaly in his lap. The car slowed to a stop in front of the game shop, the windows looking as if they'd been painted black fro mthe inside and a large sign reading "OUT OF BUISNESS" was pasted to the glass shop door. Yugi stared at it for a long while and a sinking feeling developed in his chest as he opened the door on his side of the limo. Little Ann shuffled out of the vehicle with Yugi, following right behind, and he gently closed the door before walking around as Kaiba got out on his side.

"Yugi..." Kaiba said, stopping Yugi in his tracks in his way to make it to the front door.

Yugi stared forward silently for a few moments, the silently walked towards Kaiba before making eye contact once he was standing in front of the brunette billionair. Kaiba stared back at him and only broke the eye contact to un-button his leather coat. He then tossed it carelessly into the limo and un-buttoned the button holding the right sleeve of his button-up light blue shirt closed. Yugi watched him do so in confusion and widened his eyes slightly as he watched Kaiba pull his sleeve up, Yugi being able to see Kaiba's veins in his arm. The older male held out his arm silently and Yugi swallowed hard as he quickly shood his head without a word.

Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment before re-opening them and he held his wrist by Yugi's face without touching his cheek. The younger ex-duelist looked at the wrist for a moment before pleadingly looking up at the billionair, but to no avail, and he closed his eyes, then re-opened them as his irses turned a bloody red. Yugi looked around to make sure there were no witnesses and took a hold of Kaiba's wrist gently while turning his head toward it silently. Kaiba didn't flinch as Yugi's fangs pierced into his skin and closed his eyes calmly as Yugi hungrily fed from his wrist silently. Yugi only released Kaiba's wrist once he had his fill and he looked up to see that the taller male was abit paler than normal and he looked down shamefully.

"S-Sorry..." Yugi mumbled as he released Kaiba's wrist from his hand.

"Not the worst thing that's ever happened to me..." Kaiba replied as he shakily fixed his shirt sleeve.

"How did you know...?" Yugi asked softly while he wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

"You really didn't think Pegasus was the one sending you boxes of blood bags did you? I was at the hospital after you wee attacked...but, you were unconscious and I heard what the doctor said...about that lab subject that escaped from the outskirts of Tokyo." Kaiba replied.

Yugi looked down at the ground silently and said nothing in response. Kaiba sighed softly and ruffled Yugi's hair in a friendly way, which forced a slight smile from Yugi and Kaiba gave out a slight chuckle with an almost unseen smile. When Kaiba moved his hand off of Yugi's head, Yugi looked up to see Kaiba looking down at him more concernly as Yugi's eyes shifted back to dark violet and both looked up as a bolt of lightening broke the eye contact and booming thunder soon followed. Kaiba looked back at where Yugi had been standing and blinked seeing the younger male had vanished along with Ann, then he sighed and lowered into his limo. Yugi watched from his bedroom window, a small portion of window was missed by the black paint, as Kaiba's limo soon drove off and he then lowered into his desk chair before turning towards Ann he began drying her fur off with a towel.

After she was fully dried, Ann got up on her master's bed and laid on the mattress facing Yugi. He sat in his chair with his head slightly lowered and stayed still for a few moments, then he looked over toward the underside of his bed. Ann whined faintly and jumped off the bed to scurry under the bed. She emerged a few seconds later from under the bed while pushing the golden Millenium Puzzle box out from under the bed and carefully scooted it over between Yugi's boots. Yugi smiled and scratched her head gently as he picked up the box and set it on his leg. Little Ann sat before her master and watched as Yugi carefully removed the lid to look at the items inside.

His deck was inside, along with photos of him and his friends, but the one item he couldn't look at was a group photo of himself, Kaiba, Mokuba, Joey, Tristan, Tea, the Ishtar siblings, Rebecca, Professor Hawkins, Solomon Muto, Mai Valentine, and Pegasus in front of the new Kaiba Corp. building. His former friends didn't know, but it stabbed Yugi in the heart to stare at this photo and it always reminded him of how alone he was on the outside. Inside, he had Ann...and, now, the Kaiba brothers. Pegasus would lend a hand, if needed. Yugi also still had what remained of Atem, and this remainder was why Yugi refrained from looking into mirrors...before his transformation.

"...What would Atem think of me now...?" Yugi verbally asked the question that now haunted him.

Ann only responded with a comforting lick to his hand.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Yugi couldn't sleep a blink as the night began to settle over Domino City and he stared at his sky-light with starving eyes as a dry feeling settled in his throat, he moonlight blending with his paper white skin. He stroked Ann's head gently to keep his mind occupied from his thirst while her head lay over his stoll abdomen and her body laid up against his. Yugi's eyes closed momentarily and snapped open after his irises turned a bright crimson, then he gently removed Ann's limp head from his abdomen and quietly stood to not awaken her from her slumber as he made his way out of the room. He slowly walked down the steps and through the living room before stepping into the empty game shop, shelves, posters, and the countertop gone. Yugi then exited the shop in his pajamas and took a quiet sniff of the air longly while his eyes closed and his senses awakened.

"Another night...another time to feed..." Yugi said faintly to himself.

His eyes snapped open after he said this and he vanished from where he had been. A girl was walking alone along the sidewalk with red hair to her waist and feminine curves that showed delicately in her red dress that was sleeveless, had a low neck, and went barely past her thighs, and she was also wearing red pumps to match the outfit. The girl made a turn down an alley and flipped her hair over her shoulder with a faint seductive giggle. Her smile faded quickly and she slowed to a stop hearing slow footsteps behind her, then she quickly looked over her shoulder only to see no one behind her. The girl blinked slowly and silently continued walking while looking in front of her. She then screamed painfully as a pair of fangs bit into her shoulder from behind and she collaped to the ground from the weight of her attacker being brought upon her roughly from behind.

She struggled all she could under her attacker and her screams were muffled by a hand over her mouth. Minutes went by and soon she was silently still and Yugi pulled his fangs gently free of her neck, then Yugi checked her pulse to make sure she was lifeless and nodded satisfyingly feeling nothing under his fingers. He slowly stood and vanished from the alley. Yugi re-appeared in front of his home and he silently opened the glass door of the game shop. Minutes later, he's laying naked in his bathtub with the shower-head beating ice cold water onto his chest as he stared up at the shower ceiling silently with his arms folded over her stomach.

He slowly closed his eyes to sleep under the water and slowly began to doze off, but his eyes opened quickly to the sound of something or someone being thrown through the glass front door of the game shop and he looked over the side of the tub to look at the door while Ann growled at it from her laying position beside the tub. Yugi blinked not hearing anything afterwards and slowly sat up to turn off the water. He then slowly stood from the tub and stepped out while grabbing his robe before pulling it onto his body and he tied it closed while he made his way to the bathroom door with Ann following closely. Yugi slowly opened the door and looked both ways down the hall before slowly leaving the bathroom and he made his way to the staircase while Ann trailed behind closely. As he made his way down the stairs, he began noticing the heavy scent of blood and he quickened his walk through the living room and stopped in the doorway of the game shop seeing who was laying on the floor of the game shop.

Atem was laying on his back on the floor in his Battle City attire with blood slowly pooling under him and glass shards were scattered around him. Yugi quickly snapped out of his shock and he quickly lowered by Atem while Ann jumped through the broken door, barking threateningly as she searched the area. He carefully helped Atem off the floor while the ex-Pharaoh remained unconscious and slowly walked with him into the living room to carefully lay him on his chest on the couch. Yugi quickly stood after-wards and rushed into the kitchen, reappearing beside Atem with a bowl and a pair of tweezers. He then lowered beside Atem before he carefully began pulling pieces of glass from Atem's back.

By the time Yugi pulled out the last piece, Atem began shifting and groaning in pain while he blinked open his eyes slowly. Yugi was currently carefully pulling Atemu's jacket off before setting it adise and he then froze seeing Atem's eyes open and looking at him. The ex-Pharaoh blinked slowly and slowly pushed himself up slightly to get a better look at Yugi to make sure it was really him. Yugi blinked seeing the confusion and slowly held up his hand with the back of his right hand facing Atem while a slight grin appeared on his lips. Atem blinked, then smiled after a short moment of pondering and they shared a brotherly embrace, Atem fully sitting up on the couch as he shared the embrace with his former lighter-half while ignoring the pain in his back.

"Yugi...Oh, Ra, I'm so happy to see you." Atem said softly.

"I-I'm happy to see you too." Yugi replied as he tried to ignore the heavy smell of the blood creeping between his fingers.

Atem slowly released Yugi from his arms with a faint wince from Yugi's hands sliding over his wounds before he slowly relaxed again, "I'm sorry you have to see me like this..."

"It's alright. I'll be right back." Yugi replied while he slowly stood from his knees.

Atem nodded and watched Yugi rush to the kitchen before he looked at the bowl with the bloody glass shards inside. Little Ann slowly walked into the room with soft whines of disappointment of not finding the person who threw Atem into the door and she gently took the warm cloth Yugi had on his arm, and had dropped on the floor, into her mouth. She then hopped onto the couch beside Atem and moved behind him before sitting down behind him. Ann pressed the cloth to his wounds and spread it out by nudging it with her head while also applying pressure by pressing herself against him gently. Atem blinked rapidly as he allowed this and said nothing as he enjoyed the warmth of both the cloth and Ann on his wounds. He then reached back as Ann sat behind him and he gently patted the outside of her back leg thankfully.

"A dog nurse...now I've seen everything." Atem muttered as Ann wagged her tail in responde to the patting.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Yugi was shakily washing his hands and his arms under cold water while refraining from attempting to drink from what was swirling down the drain and he was muttering to himself to keep calm. He roughly turned off the faucet and ran his dripping cold hands through his hair while closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. Once Yugi was calmed, he let out a slow sigh and released his bangs from the death grip he had put on them out of frustration. He then slowly turned and leaned against the sink rim while rubbing his forehead to try and soothe out his sudden headache even though he had just satisfied his thirst moments ago. He froze slightly as an arm slowly and gently wrapped around his shoulders in a brotherly manner and his eyes opened to see Atem standing next to him with a look of concern.

"Are you alright, Yugi?" Atem asked softly.

"I should be asking you the same thing. You're not supposed to be moving around..." Yugi replied while putting his hand over the cloth that was stuck to Atem's back, thanks to Ann.

Atem smiled slightly, "I'm alright, Yugi...thanks to...uh..."

Yugi raised an eyebrow and looked down to follow Atem's dropping eyes to Little Ann, who stood beside Atem, "Little Ann. She'll respond to "Ann" or "Annie"."

"Little Ann. Bit of an odd name for a dog, Yugi." Atem said.

"She was the runt of the litter, so when I got her, she was smaller than her siblings. Plus, she looks like an Ann, right?" Yugi asked.

"I suppose. I take it you bought her so you wouldn't get lonely while your grandfather is away?" Atem asked.

Yugi tensed slightly as if Atem just poked him in the chest with a knife, "...Uh...y-yeah..."

"...Yugi, are you alright? Did I say something?" Atem asked concernly.

"Uh...n-no. I'm just...worried about who threw you into the door like that..." Yugi replied, hiding a choke in his throat.

Atem blinked slowly, "...To be honest, I can't re-call. The last thing I remember was getting into a struggle with a girl in a black cloak, then she pushed me through a portal that led me here to the world of the living."

"She didn't give you a name?" Yugi asked as the choke in his throat slowly left.

Atem shook his head, "No...the last thing I heard her say was, "the child born of the shadows shall rise and the world will cry out as humans meet their demise.""

"..."The child born of the shadows"...weird." Yugi said softly.

"Yeah, tell me about it..." Atem replied with a soft sigh.

Yugi said nothing for a long awhile as he stared at Atem thoughtfully, then he silently put his arms around Atem's mid-section and his face into Atem's shoulder. The ex-Pharaoh blinked slowly at this and closed his eyes as he tightly wrapped his arms brotherly around Yugi to return the embrace. Yugi stared over Atem's shoulder at the window while the moon still shown brightly and Ann whimpered faintly as Yugi's eyes glowed a bright red.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Really doesn't look like the game shop changed much since I left." Atem said while he lay across Yugi's lap with his arms folded underneath his chin while being only left in his leather pants and boots.

Yugi pulled the thread of the needle he was using to stitch Atem's wounds closed, "You know, Grandpa...he never liked...uh...l-likes change all that much..."

Atem blinked twice after catching Yugi's correction, "...Yugi...is there something you're not telling me?"

"..." Yugi said nothing for awhile while in mid-stitch and froze.

Little Ann whimpered as she slowly crawled underneath her master's bed and Atem looked back up at Yugi worriedly. Yugi's eyes were suddenly distant as he stared forward at the wall of his bedroom and he stayed silent while Atem followed his eyes to a photo of Yugi, Tristan, Tea, and Joey smiling and making handsigns. The ex-Pharaoh frowned and looked back up at Yugi concernly, then widened his eyes slightly seeing Yugi's eyes glowing a bright red in the darkness of the room and he tensed slightly. Atem slowly and carefully moved onto his side on Yugi's lap before he slowly sat up and he blinked seeing blankness in Yugi's eyes. He placed a hand gently on Yugi's shoulder and carefully tried to shake him back to reality while Yugi moved with the motion without a word until the fourth shake to his shoulder and his eyes rapidly blinked back to violet before he met eyes with Atem.

Yugi still said nothing as Atem searched his eyes for the answer and still came up with nothing as to why Yugi's eyes became so blank upon him mentioning Yugi's grandfather...unless. Atem's expression slowly shifted from concern to both disbelief and understanding to why Yugi was so distant about the subject and this made Yugi realise that Atem figured it out without him having to explain. Tears slowly came to Yugi's eyes while his head slightly lowered as his eyes clenched tightly shut as if to stop the tears and Atem slowly raised Yugi's head again to lead it to his shoulder while his other arm wrapped around Yugi comfortly before his other arm moved to join it's partner. Yugi silently broke down into Atem's shoulder and trembled in his struggle not to sob or make a sound as he cried out the pain that he had fought to keep inside from losing his grandfather, Solomon Muto, who had taught him everything he knew about games and Duel Monsters and what it took to become a champion. Solomon was also the only person who had raised Yugi since...

Yugi's eyes slightly opened as he rested his head sideways against Atem's burning shoulder and he stared distantly at his closet door while his hands rested on Atem's back with the needle still in his right hand. Solomon, while fighting his battle with his medical conditions, told Yugi a story of how his parents went on an expedition together and their plane went down at sea. Their bodies were never found and they were presumed dead while other archiologists believed the couple were stranded on an island, despite plane pilots saying that they never did find anyone on the nearby islands around the crash site. He remembered himself asking his grandfather if he still had newspaper clippings that Yugi could look at to get more to the story and his grandfather replied, "Sometimes it's better not to get too much detail on things that upset or bother us, Yugi. It's best you just trust your grandpa's word." Yugi blinked slowly as he remembered the last sentence and his hands flexed on Atem's back as he pondered on it curiously before shaking his head slightly and putting his face into Atem's shoulder again after deciding to drop it.

Besides, Yugi thought with a choke in his throat, this wasn't Yugi's biggest secret, his grandfather's death being at the bottom of the list while the gang breaking up was in between the death of his grandfather and death of what Domino City knew as Yugi Muto, the King of Games. He stopped being the King of Games after he was attacked just four years ago and ended up in the hospital a year after Atem left, this happening right around the time the gang was split up and three months after the group photo was taken in front of the new Kaiba Corp. building. That secret, he knew, he couldn't hide from Atem forever and he slowly looked at Atem through the corner of his eye to see Atem having his eyes closed with his chin on Yugi's shoulder and Yugi could see lines of confusion and slight frustration between Atem's eyebrows. He slowly sighed and lightly patted Atem's shoulder blade before slowly pulling back from the ex-Pharaoh to get Atem to look at him and Atem blinked slowly while looking into Yugi's eyes at this. Yugi patted his leg for Atem to lay back down so he could finish stitching and Atem reluctantly did so without a word while his eyes stayed on Yugi, even when he fully laid down with his chin resting on his arms.

"...Atem...if I tell you everything that happened while you were gone...will you promise you'll stay?" Yugi asked softly while resuming his stitching.

Atem blinked, "Yugi, why would you ask that? Of course I'll stay..."

"...You say that...but, I'm not leaving out any details..." Yugi replied.

Atem listened as Yugi told the story from the plane trip home to now. Yugi and his friends said nothing to each other until they reached Domino and Tea couldn't stop crying while everyone else was talking about what would happen now that Atem was gone. A few weeks after Atem left, everyone but Yugi was either making plans to leave Domino City or planning out their lives while Yugi was thinking of something that they could all do before everyone left to pursue their interests while Yugi stayed in Domino with Solomon and the shop. Finally, a month later, Yugi came up the idea for the group photo and almost everyone showed up that Yugi had encountered throughout the years that Atem and him had shared minds and had so many adventures. Three months later, a television and radio alert was sent out to warn people not go out after dark after a lab in the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan recently discovered that one of their lab rabs, or test subjects, had escaped from the Higurashi Military Testing Facility and the facility staff couldn't really predict where the subject was going until Yugi got attacked and was bitten while trying to protect a little girl from the vicious subject.

Yugi awoke to see his grandfather talking furiously with the doctor who wanted him restrained because, and Yugi didn't know this at the time, the military had informed the staff in the CCU that one of their patients had a permanent bite mark on their neck and it wouldn't take long for the long-lasting effects to kick in and the doctor was hesitant on giving Yugi any medical attention because the bite mark on his neck had become permanent. Solomon urged the doctor to give Yugi the pain medicine and get out or else Solomon was going to report the lack of medical care Yugi had been receiving in his unconsciousness since he was brought to the Domino City Hospital after the girl's mother found him unconscious and bleeding. The nurses didn't even want to be in the same room as Yugi and the blinds on the windows were firmly shut while the lights in the room were also shut off. When Yugi asked why, Solomon just patted his hand and said that it was because his eyes weren't ready for the light yet because of the accident, which wouldn't have made sense if Yugi had known what really happened other than some dude he didn't know with large fangs, glowing eyes, and was completely nude jumped on him while he got in the way between the stranger and the, then, nine-year-old. Yugi's friends never visited, but Yugi now knows Kaiba was there occasionally and Solomon never left Yugi's side.

He experienced the long-lasting effects first-hand around the time that Solomon's health began to deteriate and Yugi bought Ann to keep himself from getting lonely while he stayed at his grandfather's side with Little Ann hidden in his backpack. She she started getting big, Yugi hid her under the bed until the nurse left and she would always be listening to the monitors and she would whine only loud enough for Yugi to hear, which Yugi's hearing was now inhanced so he could now hear the faintest of whispers, to alert her master if something was amiss and a nurse was needed. The day Solomon flat-lined felt the same as the day Yugi had to let Atem go with a smile, only when Solomon lay motionless in the hospital bed, Yugi sobbed his heart out and screamed as if he'd been stabbed multiple times while nurses and doctors tried to calm him down until he bit a nurse in the wrist. The days that followed, Ann was as depressed as he was and she only ate and drank when he got into one of the blood bags that mysteriously started showing up at his door in an Industrial Illusions box meant for booster packs. The news went viral around Domino City as quickly as the news of Yugi's attack and he started getting flowers from fans at the front door as quickly as he received flowers in the hospital, both times he let the flowers wither and droop because his fans didn't know or care what was really happening to him on the inside.

Yugi explained that he couldn't look in the mirror because he was reminded everyday of Atem's departure through his appearance, and also the THING he became through his color-shifting eyes and paper-white skin. The compulsive hunger for blood once became so much that Yugi went into a violent rage while in his bathtub and almost broke it right through and was close to feeding off of Ann, who willingly volunteered out of deep concern and worry for her master, but Yugi refused. News reporters and journalists showed up every now and then and knocked only once before Ann angrily chased them off and this went on for about three weeks until they stopped coming, the fans too. Fans would leave notes at his front door instead of knocking and Ann would gather them up like a pile of newspapers and she would curl up with her head in Yugi's lap while he sit on the couch as the notes burned in the fireplace he built in himself. When he left the house to buy dog food for Ann, he made sure to go into a pet shop where there weren't that many people and especially not that many fans he recognized from watching them leave the notes.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Atem continued listening to the end that was Solomon Muto's funeral and the death of the woman Yugi had fed from just moments before the ex-Pharaoh appeared at his front door. He looked back up at Yugi after Yugi cut the thread and he slowly sat up from Yugi's lap to sit beside him on the bed while looking at him silently as he pondered on what to say in response to all that he heard just now. Yugi looked back at him silently while waiting for Atem to say something, expecting the same thing he'd always imagined Atem would give him in his dreams he had...repulsion, and he remained silent as he tried searching Atem's eyes and he saw the complete opposite of what he'd expected. Compassion...concern...worry...regret...everything the exact opposite of what Yugi thought he would get if Atem ever did come back for real and not just in his dreams and he explained everything that had happened since the ex-Pharaoh's departure. Atem still didn't say anything for a few more long minutes and Yugi frowned at Atem still not giving him an answer and he slowly turned his head forward while moving to stand up from the bed until a firm, yet caring, hand caught his wrist.

Yugi looked back to see Atem sitting with his head low and he blinked slowly seeing him trembling slightly, then Yugi slowly lowered into a kneel in front of Atem with the ex-Pharaoh's hand still clutching his wrist. He dipped his head abit to see crystal clear tears falling from Atem's eyes and they dripped off his hard jaw-like while Atem remained silent and his hand continued holding Yugi's wrist firmly, but not painfully. Yugi gently gripped Atem's hand in a brotherly manner while he gently moved a bang from Atem's face and the ex-Pharaoh slowly made eye-contact with his regretful eyes meeting Yugi's concerned ones before Atem suddenly and quickly put his arms brotherly around Yugi. Yugi blinked rapidly at this while putting his hands on Atem's shoulder blades carefully as Little Ann slowly moved out from under the bed with a worried whine and Yugi blinked slowly hearing Atem mutter apologies into his shoulder before Yugi closed his eyes as he nuzzled his face into Atem's shoulder. Ann jumped onto the bed and moved behind Atem as the two males continued their embrace with Atem slowly going quiet and relaxing slowly a few minutes later.

"...Atem?" Yugi asked softly, receiving no answer.

Yugi smiled faintly as he figured out that Atem had fallen asleep and he slowly stood from the floor with his hands on Atem's shoulders to keep him sitting up, then he slowly took Atem's shirt, which Ann had picked up from the floor while they were in their brotherly embrace, and he slowly and carefully slid it onto the ex-Pharaoh while trying not to move him too much. He then carefully laid Atem on the bed on his side before he pulled Atem's legs gently onto the mattress and he pulled the covers up to Atem's shoulder before he sat back down on the bed and watched the ex-Pharaoh sleep. Yugi only saw what Atem looked like in his sleep a few times when they still shared minds and Yugi never told him to this day, but he always sort of liked to watch Atem sleep because the lines between Atem's brows were never there and he always looked like a regular 18-year-old in his sleep. He gently scratched he top of Little Ann's head as she laid her head on his leg while he examined Atem's face and he smiled faintly seeing that Atem hadn't changed in the last five years. His voice was still deep, his face hard and triangular, his hair still spiked like Yugi's, only with more blonde bangs, still, his eyes still more slanted than Yugi's with his eyelashes over-lapping, and he was slightly more muscular than Yugi.

Yugi always believed that Atem had to grow up far too soon after his father died from an illness and he thought it was forced upon Atem to do so until he saw the memories through Atem's eyes and saw that Atem willingly accepted what he, sadly, had to do. He was 18, but he sounded like he was much older, and he had the physical appearance of someone who was over 20 years of age while also not acting his true age and having adult-like natural instincts. Yugi continued staring thoughtfully at Atem for a few more moments while he gently scratched the top of Little Ann's head before he slowly made a move to stand and Ann obediantly moved her head away as Yugi stood from the bed to dress into his faint blue button-up pajama shirt and matching pajama pants. He then slowly crawled onto the bed and laid behind Atem, facing the wall with his back a few inches from touching Atem's, while Ann jumped up onto the bed and curled up at the foot of the bed. Yugi continued to stare blankly at the wall as he prepared for another sleepless night like so many he had encountered since his transformation until he felt Atem subconsciously turn and he wrapped an arm brotherly around Yugi's mid-section from behind.

He blinked slowly at this action before he silently laid his arm brotherly over Atem's to welcome the ex-Pharaoh's body heat that burnt Yugi's ice-cold form, but Yugi could care less. He then felt himself begin to drift into drowziness as the minutes went by before he slowly lost the battle to stay awake and he slowly fell asleep with Atem's warm and gentle breathing in his ear. As they slept, a pair of glowing golden eyes watched the sleeping men through the sky-light as a male and a female sat perched on the roof of what remained of the game shop and they remained silent behind the bandages that hid their faces, then the pair vanished into a black mist that quickly traveled to downtown Domino in a matter of minutes. They regenerated quickly on the stage of an abandoned opera theatre in front of a wooden throne, in which sat a young woman in an elegant dress with spaghetti-straps on her shoulders and the skirt of her dress going down past her knees with a black non-see-through under-skirt hiding the rest of her legs along with her dark-green high heels that matched the green material of her dress and the cape that draped her shoulders, her pig-tails that draped over her shoulders as well being a lighter shade of green. One her right stood a tall man hidden by the shadows wearing a black tuxedo outfit with a dark blue undershirt that was button-up, a dark blue rose attached to his jacket, black well-shined shoes, and his dark blue hair was cut short with his bangs covering his right eye while his left eye was blinded by bandages, his bangs going down to his hard jawline.

"The Fifth Alice is causing trouble in this world..." the female in the pair said in a soft, whispery voice.

The young woman in the throne smiled slowly, "...A Fifth Alice..."

A girl in a white dress that went down to the floor with long sleeves along with a curved neck that exposed her collar and chest bones while it also framed her hour-glass shaped figure and thin bodily features, her raven-black hair delicately running down her back like a waterfall with her bangs cut short while she was as pale as the throned woman and suited man with blank blue eyes and innocent facial features, "Should I make arrangements for when he reveils himself?"

The throned woman's smile grew abit, "...No...we'll let him play for awhile...in the meantime," she sighed as she held a hand out toward the twins and they obediantly moved forward with the male taking the offered hand with the hand that was not entwined with his sister's, "it's high time that we started having more of our own fun around here..."

The next morning, Atem slowly awoke to Yugi being missing from the bed long with Little Ann and he slwoly sat up with a gaint groan of both awakening and pain from his sore back. He slowly moved his bangs from his face with his fingers as he reluctantly blinked his eyes open only to find that it was still dark in the room and a bottle of pills sitting on the desk caught his eye before his eyes drifted to the note addressed to him sitting underneath the bottle. He then reached over and gently removed the pill bottle before picking up the note and he slowly unfolded it to find it was written in Yugi's hand-writing saying that the pills were pain-killers and the best he could find without a perscription. Atem looked over at the large pill bottle and set the note in his lap before reaching over once more to grab it gently from the desk only to find a post-it note attached to the back stating: "2 for numb, 3 for head in the clouds, 4+ either really high or dead." He raised an eyebrow at Yugi's idea of a sense of a humor before he opened the bottle and shook two pills into his palm carefully, then he looked over at the bottle of water sitting on the desk as well and he closed the pill bottle securely before he reached for the bottle of water.

"I've always been the one for taking risks..." Atem muttered as he opened the bottled water.

He put the pills in his mouth in one quick motion before washing them down with the bottled water and he then re-capped the bottle before he reached back over to place the pill bottle and the bottled water on the desk. Atem then slowly pushed the sheets off his body as he slowly brought his legs over the side of the bed and he sighed tiredly as he ran his fingers through his hair slowly while trying to re-call everything he experienced last night. He slowly opened his eyes at the memory of Yugi explaining what had happened after he had left for the afterlife and the same wave of guilt that he had felt last night before he had slipped into unconsciousness swept over him heavily so much that he felt like shedding the same tears he had shed in front of Yugi last night. The only thing stopping him from doing this was the sound of the door opening and he lifted his head to see Little Ann strolling in with his jacket, fresh out of the washer and still warm from the dryer, and she sat in front of him with his jacket hanging from the edge of her mouth so it didn't get ruined again. Atem gently took it from her with a thankful nod before he slid it carefully onto his body and he gently scratched her head while pondering on how Little Ann grew to be so intelligent for a canine companion.

"If there's one thing that I never thought I'd see in the modern-day world...it's a dog whose a nurse and a laundry retreiver..." Atem said honestly to her.

Little Ann only gave a tired yawn in reply before she moved closer and laid her head on Atem's arm.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Atem slowly walked down the stairs with Ann rushing past him and turning before trotting into the kitchen while he followed behind her in a casual walk before he stopped in the entryway seeing Yugi opening a box from Industrial Illusions, but he could see that there were blood bags with the Domino City Hospital logo on the packages inside instead of booster packs. Yugi was sorting them on the counter by blood type with a blank expression on his face and in his eyes as he didn't even notice Atem standing in the doorway not knowing what to say or what to do other than to watch Yugi do this routine that Yugi had been doing for a few years now. The ex-Pharaoh silently pushed himself off the entryway that he had been leaning on to make his way over to Yugi's side and he silently began helping Yugi without saying anything and Yugi looked at him out of both surprise and slight shock before he smiled faintly as he continued his sorting. Kaiba gave Yugi bags from the Domino City Hospital with four different blood types, AA, BB, AB, and O. Yugi prefered the O blood type more than any kind of blood type, but he didn't complain with the other three and he'd take any kind of blood type if he was ever in another one of his danerous moods.

"Do you want me to start putting these in the fridge?" Atem asked casually.

"You don't have to help me...I can tell this bothers you. You've always been a bad liar..." Yugi said softly.

Atem looked over at him, "...It does...I won't lie to you, Yugi. But, as long as I'm here, I'll adjust to anything you have to go through in a daily routine...no matter how much it bothers me."

"That's why I always prefered to talk to you about my problems than anybody else when we still shared minds. You knew me inside and out and you cared enough about me to risk your own back in Battle City..." Yugi said softly.

Atem stayed silent at the memory of him taking the blast of Ra's angry flames so Yugi wouldn't get hurt at all, but whatever pain Atem felt Yugi experienced only some of it because of a mental barrier Atem managed to put up just in the nick of time. This was back in Battle City when they were still dealing with Yami Marik and the memories weren't as fresh in Atem's mind as they are now...although, to him, the time he spent with Yugi seemed to be short-lived after the answers to his past began to un-wravel and became reveiled. Atem silently looked over at Yugi while he remembered the last night that he and Yugi had to spend together as friends for the last time while Yugi was silently placing the O blood type bags into the refridgerator without noticing Atem's thoughtful stare. Of course, Yugi was much younger and more innocent back then than he is now and Yugi was more, in a way, fragile and now Atem saw none of the fragileness and innocense of the Yugi he had met more than five years ago and had helped mature over the years they had spent as soul brothers. It was during this moment that Atem got a real good look at the man Yugi had become now as he continued staring at his oblivious ex-hikari and he frowned faintly at the un-familiur gloomyness in Yugi's naturally perky violet eyes and he saw none of the kindness in the violet orbs that kept Atem from getting depressed over not knowing who he was over the years he and Yugi shared minds.

"...Atem...?" Yugi asked softly.

Atem blinked rapidly out of his thoughts to see Yugi staring at him oddly, "Uh...yes?"

"...Nothing. I forgot that you usually always had something on your mind, it's what made you...you, I guess." Yugi replied with a faint smile.

Atem blinked, then chuckled faintly while looking down at the AA blood type bags, "Well, you know me better than anyone. Of course, you can't really blame me for being such a thinker...what with so many questions about my own life surrounding me 24-7."

"Yeah, I remember. I remember it made you lonely sometimes too..." Yugi said softly as he slowly walked over and he gently gathered the AB blood type bags.

Atem blinked, loneliness wasn't something he had expressed around Yugi before...why would he? Yugi was always there when something was bothering him and the two were practically inseperable back then, minus the incident with Bandit Keith stealing the Millenium Puzzle and...Atem couldn't even think about it. Something got caught in Atem's throat as he remembered the day he played the Seal of Orichalcos while he stared at the blood bags on the counter blankly and Yugi blinked slowly seeing the blankness in his eyes before he gently shook Atem to bring him out of his thoughts without knowing that Atem was fighting not to tremble while Atem blinked rapidly out of his own thoughts before he met eyes with Yugi. Yugi blinked slowly in concern for the ex-Pharaoh before he slowly and brotherly wrapped his arms around Atem's shoulders with his chin going on Atem's right shoulder and Atem blinked slowly at this before closing his eyes as his arms wrapped brotherly around Yugi and his hands subconsciously gripped the back of Yugi's pajama shirt faintly. Little Ann watched them from her dog bed next to her food bowl and water bowl that Yugi had filled while Atem continued to slumber before the sound of the phone interupted the moment and she gave a loud bark in response to the ringing. Yugi hushed her while slowly releasing Atem before he walked out of the kitchen to answer the phone and Atem leaned back against the counter while watching Yugi leave the kitchen before looking down at Ann as she approached him.

He gently scratched her head after she gave his hand a nudge for attention and he continued to scratch gently on the top of her head while his head turned towards the doorway not hearing Yugi talking to anyone on the phone while the ringing had stopped. Atem looked down at Little Ann as she stared at the extra phone hooked into the wall of the kitchen that Yugi had forgotten about and he blinked slowly before letting his concern control his actions as he slowly pushed himself off the counter while she stood from her sitting position on the kitchen floor while he was petting her, then he slowly removed the phone from the receiver and put it to his ear curiously. He heard a woman's voice and Yugi's voice was blank as he conversated with the woman whose voice Atem could swear he knew and Atem leaned on the wall gently as he listened to the conversation. The conversation was basically about how Yugi was doing, which Yugi responded with a dull voice that Atem didn't recognise either, before she started asking if Atem had come back from the afterlife yet and Atem could hear the pause in Yugi's voice before he dully replied "no". Atem felt a chill run up his spine hearing the woman give a faint, yet audible mischevious giggle before she replied that she knew that Atem had come back and Yugi said nothing before he hung up.

He was about to do the same before he heard the woman say, "Atem?"

Atem blinked and slowly put the phone back to his ear, "Yes? Who is this?"

"Oh, come on, Atem...you know me. You remember me, right? You said you'd never forget about us...any of us. Remember? Or did you forget about us like you forgot about your name and your own identity?" the woman said innocently at first before her voice ran cold.

"...Tea...?" Atem asked softly, feeling the chill return to his spine.

The woman gave another mischeivious giggle that Atem didn't like at all, "That's right...I knew you'd never forget me. How've you been? Yugi doesn't really seem to know you're there at all...not surprising though."

Atem frowned, "Tea...don't act innocent. He told me what you all did to him after I left...he told me everything, Tea. I don't know why you all did what you did, but if I ever see you around Domino again you won't be able to have a second to react before I do to you what I did to Weevil Underwood on the top of that train...!"

Tea didn't respond to his suddenly angry toned voice, but he went on, "You promised each other to be friends no matter what happened and then I left and all of a sudden it's alright to leave Yugi behind with his ill grandfather and ruining reputation? It shouldn't have taken me being around to keep you all together and NOTHING should've changed when I left!"

Tea reamined silent for a few minutes as he angrily waited for her reply and he growled faintly hearing her hang up before he roughly placed the phone back on the receiver while cursing in Egyptian. He slowly relaxed after feeling Little Ann nudge his leg as she gave a motherly concerned whine and he gently scratched her head to let her know he was fine before his eyes met Yugi's from where Yugi was standing in the kitchen entryway. Yugi had tears developing in his eyes and Atem saw the pain in Yugi's eyes that he'd seen last night as he held the older male brotherly in his arms. The ex-Pharaoh slowly walked over to place his arms silently around Yugi in a brotherly manner and Yugi took a few seconds before he slowly wrapped his arms around Atem's mid-section in a brotherly manner. Little Ann slowly moved over to the embracing males and jumped up with her doggish legs laying across both Yugi and Atem's backs while the two males chuckled faintly as they gently slid their arms around her as well.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Atem and Yugi walked down the sidewalk a few blocks from Domino Square side-by-side while people passed by them without taking notice to Yugi wearing a black hoodie with the hood hiding most of his face besides the area below his nose and his bangs were half-visible. Atem was clad in his black tank-top, dark blue jacket, black leather pants, and black boots while Yugi was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt underneath his hoodie, black denim jeans, and black boots while Yugi also had Little Ann's leash clutched in his left hand that was hidden in his hoodie pocket as she walked between the two males casually. Both males lifted their heads slightly as they caught sight of two police cars parked at the entrance of an ally and, as they passed by, they could see four police officers examining a dead woman laying in a pool of her own blood while two suited men were conversating too quietly for the officers to hear. Ann whimpered and walked abit faster while having to pull Yugi into doing the same as she did so and Atem silently walked abit faster beside Yugi without taking his eyes off the dead woman until she was no longer in sight. A few minutes later, the two males arrived at Domino City park while casually still walking side-by-side one another with Ann leading the way and the two had slowed their walk upon being a few yards from the crime scene while both men still said nothing about it.

Yugi slowly stopped underneath a large elm tree before he carefully let Ann off her leash and he slowly sat down beside Atem as she ran off to run freely to her heart's content. Both men still said nothing as they both stared forward blankly while Little Ann played by her lonesome happily and Yugi closed his eyes slowly as a cool breeze rolled by, the breeze being as silent as the two men were as they sat almost shoulder-to-shoulder underneath the large tree. Yugi broke the silence with a faint sigh of content before Atem looked over at him slightly to see that the older male still had his eyes closed and Atem blinked slowly before he silently did the same as the breeze continued to roll by silently and gently. After a few minutes, Atem heard rustling of grass and slowly opened his eyes to see Yugi laying on his back on the grass while he stared silently up at the branches of the tree standing above them with it's branches hiding the sunlight. This was the first moment since the moment they were in the kitchen while discussing Atem's bad habit of being a thinker that Atem saw a sense of content in Yugi's facial features and the ex-Pharaoh smiled slightly seeing most of Yugi's gloomyness no longer present on the older male's face, it having been replaced by pure relaxation.

"...This has been my stress-relief for the past few years...just laying here under this big ol' tree while feeling the wind go by and letting my head go blank." Yugi said softly without opening his eyes.

"I'm surprised nobody recognises you anymore when you come out here. You're not that hard to point out, even with that hood over your head." Atem said softly as he pushed the hood gently out of Yugi's face.

Yugi opened his eyes to stare at the ex-Pharaoh blankly for a few silent moments before they closed once more, "...I kind of scared my fans away...either that, or the rejection I put on them was too much for them to handle."

Atem blinked slowly while he silently stared down at the older male and was silent for a few minutes longer before he let out a faint sigh as he slowly lowered onto his back beside Yugi on the grass to stare up at the branches of the elm tree while Yugi opened his eyes to look over at Atem as he did so before both men closed their eyes as the breeze continued rolling by. Atem tried to let his mind go blank, but, as Yugi had explained, he was not one to have a blank mind at all and usually always had something on his mind, and something indeed was on his mind at the moment as he continued laying there on the grass next to his ex-hikari. Tea's cold voice kept ringing in his head like someone's nails raking against a chalkboard and he opened his eyes slightly as he remembered what she had said before he had made his angry remarks to her, "Did you forget about us like you forgot about your name and your own identity?". That question stabbed him through the back and into his heart because he had hung onto the memories of his friends for so long only to find that everything, and he stretched the word EVERYTHING, had changed since he had left for the afterlife to fulfill his own destiny. Worst of all, Atem blamed himself for a reason he couldn't find out or even explain.

Atem was broken out of his thoughts at the sound of Little Ann's excited barking and he sat up on his elbows to see that she was happily running towards two men he remembered well. Mokuba chuckled faintly as she jumped up with her front paws going on his abdomen and he gently scratched her right ear while she wagged her tail rapidly in approval. Kaiba gently pat Ann's head before he walked toward Yugi and Atem as Yugi slowly sat up and he removed his hood slowly after seeing Kaiba approaching. The billionair froze a few feet away as he took in the sight of the two look-alikes and Atem fought himself from laughing at the weasle look on Kaiba's face after he finally recognised Atem's outfit that was hard not to point out. Mokuba slowly walked over with Little Ann trailing behind him and he slowed to a stop beside his older brother with a surprised expression after instantly recognizing Atem from his outfit.

"Well, well...the king of procupines is back in town." Kaiba said while putting his hands in his tuxedo pant pockets.

"And the king of the ego looks so happy to see me." Atem replied sarcastically with a grin of amusement.

Kaiba chuckled faintly, "Glad to see your sense of humor is still there. How'd you get back so soon?"

"Might as well sit down with us because it's a long story..." Atem replied softly.

(A few minutes later)

Kaiba was sitting beside Atem under the tree while the ex-Pharaoh finished his tale as Yugi and Mokuba sat only a few inches away from them while they both massaged Little Ann on her belly and her ears as she lay relaxingly on her back. The billionair examined Atem's stitches afterward and raised his eyebrows out of being impressed with Yugi's stitch work. Mokuba paled at the sight of the stitches while Kaiba was busy making sure that Yugi didn't miss any wounds that needed to be stitched and he slowly pulled Atem's top down after seeing there were none. The ex-Pharoah slid his jacket back onto his body after Kaiba did so as Kaiba was asking him about the afterlife and Atem replied honestly that the afterlife for Pharaohs is to live in a paradise alongside the Pharaohs that came before him as well as the ones he held dear. Atem also mentioned that he finally met his mother in the afterlife and that she looked and acted completely different than what he expected, she had the same colored hair as Atem's and the same violet eye-color while also acting more innocent and angelic than he'd imagined. When Kaiba asked what Atem expected out of his mother, the ex-Pharaoh went blank as he tried remembering what he'd imagined about his mother and Yugi had to gently shake him out of his own thoughts to bring Atem back into reality.

"Still a big thinker, hm?" Kaiba asked.

"If you remember correctly, it was my thinking that rose my winning streak and broke your loss record." Atem replied with a playful grin.

Kaiba's eye twitched, "...You're still short..."

Atem closed his eyes while rasing his head abit and still had his playful grin, "My father always said that it's never the size that counts, it's what the person does with it, Kaiba."

Kaiba grumled to himself and this earned him laughs from Mokuba and Yugi while Atem only grinned abit wider in victory, "...You can tell I missed you, you son of a-"

A sound from Ann as she quickly lifted her head to look at the billionair made Kaiba silence himself and Atem chuckled as he carefully leaned back against the tree. The silence in the atmosphere was interupted by the sound of horse hooves and Atem opened his eyes to join the other males in looking around the tree just in time to see a wooden horse-drawn carriage traveling through the park with a man and a woman sitting on the driver's bench with the suited man holding the black leather reins of the black horses whose bright-green eyes were hidden under black leather eye protectors to keep the sunlight out of their eyes. The carriage was made of black wood with elegant designs carved into the wood and the glass windows were blackened by the closed curtains while the carriage itself was large with lanterns hanging and dangling at every corner on the roof as the wooden wheels turned on the pavement of the park walkway. The woman sitting beside the suited man was almost as tall as he was with bright crimson hair in an up-do, which was hidden by a black hat only big enough to fit her head with the top of the hat curved in an arc with red roses woven around the neck of the hat as a black fish-net veil hid the right side of her face. The woman also had her nose and mouth areas hidden with a red feather fan with the end of the feathers dyed black and she wore a red satin dress with the beginning of the dress having black small feathers bunched together while the dress had no sleeves, only thin crimson material around the shoulders, and the skirt of the dress was egg-shaped from her hips to the ground, only the very bottom of the dress that touched the ground was flat with black see-through material underneath the skirt and black high heeled shoes were worn on the woman's feet.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The horse-drawn carriage slowed to a stop in Domino Square by the fountain while a crowd was slowly drawn in a wide circle, keeping a distance of a few feet from the carriage, and the suited man slowly decended from the driver's bench silently before he gently assisted the woman in the red dress down to the concrete of the city square and they slowly turned towards the crowd while her right hand, which was guarded by the black glove that went up to her elbow while it's partner was on her left hand and arm, was in one of his white-gloved hands. The suited man slowly removed his black top-hate, with a light blue ribbon wrapped around the neck of the hat and a medium-sized blue rose attached as well, from his head and the children in the crowd moved closer to their guardians at the sight of his bandaged eye. The woman in the red dress slowly closed her fan with her left hand fingers and lowered her arm to her side slowly while Yugi, Atem, the Kaiba bros., and Little Ann slowly moved to the front of the crowd to see what the commotion was about. The crowd remained silent as they awaited what the pair was preparing to do and Yugi and Atem met eyes worriedly before returning their gazes to the pair. The man and woman looked at each other and smiled as they hooked arms before looking at the crowd as they slowly bowed, then the slowly stood straight.

"Good morning, good morning, madames and misters Today is a sunny day, a real good day Dear children, dear children, do listen well You're filled with excitement, yes we can tell" the pair sang in unison, the man's voice being slightly deep and gentle while the woman's was medium-pitched and also gentle.

"We are the four Alices from Wonderland Our tales untold and remained unheard Please, don't be afraid by our appearance This is just part of a lesson that we all must learn" the suited man sang, placing his top-hat back onto his head upon reaching "please" in his lark.

The woman slowly freed her arm before she slowly walked over to a small group of children who just stared at her curiously as she lowered in front of them,  
>"Dear Children, dear children, your eyes do sparkle Today is your lucky day, I'll tell you why We Alices are here to tell no lie Tell your parents, your grandparents to bring you to the theatre"<p>

"Hear the darker tales of Wonderland, the tales that no has heard Come see us tonight when the sun leaves the sky Come see us tonight boys and girls, madames and misters" the suited man sang.

The woman slowly stood and walked over to the man's side to hook her arm with his as they sang in unison:  
>"Come see, come see young boys and girls!<br>Gentleman and lady, come see, come see!  
>The Alices of Wonderland will sing for you tonight.<br>Come see our performance and be amazed!"

"My name is Scarlet, wrathful woman of the Spade Please don't let the name fool you, for I have changed my ways This lady of the blade has her own debts to pay I am a gentle maiden, though quite naughty at times~ But, hey, no one is perfect" the woman said as she twirled away from the man and womanly bowed before straightening herself.

"My name is Lark, gentle man of the Diamond My gentle notes and songs are that of my own demented mind So don't be so disturbed if I sing of my sickness This innocent man of the Diamond no longer has thickness.  
>I am a blue-haired gentleman, though at times I have no control of my own hand" the suited man sang as he bowed while removing his top-hate, then slowly straightening himself as he placed the hat back onto his head.<p>

"Everyone, come one, come all! See the four Alices together, for you have only seen two. Come to the theatre in Downtown Domino City at exactly eight o' clock this afternoon!" Scarlet announced.

"You'll soon see posters around the city to remind you all of the time and place. You needn't purchase any tickets for this perfomance, so feel free to walk in and be seated with no charge other than your time." Lark added.

"We'll be so excited to see you all there. See you then." Scarlet said as she turned and moved back up to the driver's bench on the carriage.

Lark made a gentleman-like bow before he silently did the same and sat beside Scarlet while taking hold the reins, then raised and lowered his arms quickly to make the reins, which connected to the horses bridles at the end, make a whip sound and signal the horses to start pulling the carriage towards downtown. The crowd remained silent as the carriage rode off and still remained silent as the crowd slowly broke apart while Yugi, Atem, Kaiba, Mokuba, and Little Ann stayed together with nothing to say as to what they all just witnessed and heard. Kaiba made a quiet remark that the freakshow must have just moved into two while all four males slowly walked away from the fountain with Ann following behind Yugi and Atem and the ex-Pharoah glanced over to see that Yugi had the same look in his eyes as Atem got whenever he felt a disturbance in the air. The men traveled to a diner with an outside area so that Ann could remain at Yugi's side as Kaiba only made an order of white wine, Mokuba the same, both Atem and Yugi water with an order of french fries that were secretly for Ann. While the waitress was busy with their order, Kaiba brought up an interesting subject.

"Yugi, I know that you're still dealing with Atem coming back and grandfather's death, but me and Mokuba have been testing out a new machine that we both built a few years back and we think we might be able to cure you of your condition...permanently." Kaiba said softly.

"We built it a few days after you left the hospital and we kept testing it out to see if it'll be successful. Last night, we finally caught a break." Mokuba added.

Yugi blinked at this while he gently scratched the top of Ann's head, "Does it completely work?"

"Well, we found that something has to trigger the Vampire inside you to want to take control over you completely, then we can absorb it from the inside out using the machine. It worked entirely last night." Kaiba replied, taking no notice to the waitress as she set their drinks and a basket of french fries on the table.

Atem slowly picked one up and held it to Ann, then gently rubbed her head after she gently took it from him, "Is it safe though, Kaiba?"

"He might be sore afterward, but not severely harmed in any way." Kaiba replied.

"I need someone to keep Ann company if I have to go over to your place..." Yugi said softly as he fed Ann another fry.

"I'll get one of my body-guards to take care of her, since I can already tell Atem wants to be there without him having to say anything. You two have always been inseperable." Kaiba replied.

Yugi and Atem looked at each other, knowing Kaiba was right, while Ann looked from one of them to the other as if she could also feel that this was true and the four males and canine remained silent while they turned their heads after hearing a faint commotion once more only to see some people crowding around a telephone pole where a poster for the performance was nailed, this making Kaiba huff quietly before he took a sip of his white wine. Yugi and Atem looked at each other again before Atem silently nodded towards a twin duo walking down the sidewalk past them with bandaged faces and Yugi turned his head to look at them while the duo remained oblivious to them as they continued down the sidewalk with posters in their arms along with hammers and nails. The two spikey haired males looked at each other again only to share the same suspicious look that something wasn't right in the air and Ann made a faint growling sound as if she was agreeing with their mental discussion and Kaiba continued to pretend that he didn't care though Mokuba knew his older brother well enough to know that Kaiba was also silently thinking the same thing but didn't want to admit it. Moments later after finishing their drinks and paying the bill, the men were again walking on the sidewalk while discussing the performance and Kaiba immediately rejected going at all while Mokuba admitted he was curious and said that the machine could wait if Yugi wanted to check out what these four individuals were up to before he was cured, which Atem agreed with since he wasn't quite sure either wether these four "Alices" were good people or the opposite. Yugi and Atem both had experience with those of the twisted mind and knew that if someone wasn't acting like everyone else in Domino City they were either trouble or wanting to start trouble, one of the two.

Kaiba sighed deeply, "Fine...but if you're going with them, Mokuba, I'll go too..."

"You still promise to leave someone with Ann? She doesn't like being by herself..." Yugi asked softly.

"Don't worry, I plan on leaving someone very trustworthy with Ann. You might be shocked, but I've grown fond of her compared to Joey." Kaiba replied, refering to the old insult that Joey was part-canine.

"Good...I guess I better start digging through my closet then..." Yugi replied while Atem silently nodded and Ann continued walking while pretending she had no idea what they were all talking about, though she knew better.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Later that evening, at around 8:30pm, Atem and Yugi were gathered together in what used to be the game shop portion of the house Yugi had been living in since he was much younger than when Atem first met him while Ann was sitting by where the store counter would be had the men, that were called after Solomon's hospital stay, hadn't taken it and the two men both stared at the ground while trying to figure out what to say to pass the time as they waited for Seto Kaiba's limo to arrive that would take them to Downtown Domino City to see the performance of the Four Alices. Before either of them could strike a conversation, a gentle knock was heard at the front glass door, which Yugi had repaired this morning during Atem's slumber, before Kaiba and Mokuba entered wearing black tuxedos instead of white and one of Kaiba's bodyguards, Roland, behind them and Ann tilted her head as if to ask if this was who Kaiba was going to be leaving with her. Both spikey-haired males tried not to chuckle at Little Ann's reaction to Roland and Yugi slowly walked over to kneel down and kiss the bridge of her nose gently before he stood to follow Kaiba, Mokuba, and Atem out the door to leave Ann with Roland which he didn't seem too excited about. The limo ride made Yugi and Atem both notice how many people were walking the sidewalks at this time of night with either their families or by their lonesomes towards Downtown Domino City to see this performance and this made both males get an even greater feeling that something else was going on in all of this despite the seemingly innocense of all of this. They soon pulled up in front of the theatre to see the same two twins from earlier that had passed them by while they were at the diner and Mokuba made a faint sound of both shock and slight horror at the bandaged faces of the twins with only one eye exposed from each of them and Kaiba soon softly tried to calm his brother by casually saying it was just an act, but it didn't seem to convince either Yugi or Atem nor the younger Kaiba.

The twins looked about 15 with their exposed eyes a pure gold and each was wearing a small top hat on their head facing the opposite direction of their counterpart. The female twin was wearing a black dress that fit her petite form perfectly with a frilly lace collar and sleeves that expanded from her elbows to her fingertips with the very ends being lined with black lace. The skirt of the dress exposed the shape of her slender petite thighs while also being lined with black lace at the very end and the top of the dress had a V-neck that exposed her collar-bone. She was also wearing black fish-nets, black boots go up mid-shin, and her top hat leaned to the right while her exposed eye was her left and her height was 5' 6". The male twin was wearing a black tuxedo jacket over a white button-up shirt with a frilled collar of white lace, black shorts that ended at his pale knees, white socks that went up mid-shin, black well-shined shoes, top-hat leaning to the left with his golden eye being his right, a small bow-tie, and looked leanly muscular under his clothing.

The twins were hand-in-hand with a 5' 7" woman with an hour-glass bodily frame, raven-black hair left down to go to her waist, long black dress with the skirt reaching her ankls and no sleeves other than two black bars looping around the ends of her shoulders, the dress framing her thin body figure perfectly. She was adorned with wide, dollish dark-blue eyes and porcelain-pale skin as well. People were passing them by as if they took no notice and Yugi slowly opened the limo door while trying not to stare himself while Atem followed out of the vehicle behind him as Kaib and Mokuba got out on the other side. The Kaiba brothers slowly joined the spikey-haired males seconds later and all four men turned slowly to go inside only to see the twins standing together behind them, then Mokuba took a hold of Kaiba's hand brotherly. Their golden eyes seemed to glow dimly in the darkness of the night and Yugi felt a chill run down his spine as he felt their smiles without having to see them.

"We are the Fourth Alices, Rona and Ronald We knew you'd come, oh yes, we knew Come here to hear our twisted carols" the twins sang in unison in soft, whispery voices.

"How did you know that we would be here?" Atem asked suspiciously.

"Please, hold all questions until the end of the performance..." Rona, the female twin, said before giggling innocently.

"Until then, all we can tell you is..." Ronald, the male twin, began.

"The Fifth Alice has a servant and she made contact with one of you." the twins said in unison before scurrying into the theatre while giggling innocently.

"What'd I tell you? The freakshow has settled into Domino..." Kaiba said, obviously not amused.

"I wonder if the Third Alice is this distrubing..." Atem muttered, instantly being followed with a slight nod from Yugi while Kaiba only huffed as Mokuba tried pretending like he wasn't curious.

Meanwhile, Shira, the dollish-eyed woman that had been seen with the twins earlier, was silently applying blush to her metallic skin in front of a mirror without noticing footsteps approaching from behind until she felt a familiur pair of gloved hands on her shoulders and smelled the familiur scent of roses. She slowly lowered the powder puff from her right cheek as the hands massaged her metallic shoulders while she closed her eyes and she tried not to shiver as the hands traveled to her neck snakishly slow to linger there for a few moments before they slid back to her shoulders. Shira slowly stood from her chair before they could have a chance to move her dress downward and she slowly walked around the chair to stand in front of the owner of the hands, then she slowly reached up and moved his bangs slightly out of his face. Lark stared down at her the whole time while still not blinking his exposed blue eye as his bangs were moved out of his face only to gracefully fall back over his right eye and he then slowly raised a gloved hand to carefully take a hold of her metallic chin to tilt her face upward. Her eyes were innocently glistening while her cheeks were a dark pink and Lark brushed the tips of his gloved fingers down the base of her neck, while her head slowly raised upon him doing so, to her chest to feel the escalated beat of her heart made of gears that replicated a human heart to the point that it could be mistaken as one.

"You have a show to do..." Shira said almost breathlessly as Lark's hand slowly traveled downward between her breasts and down lower to her abdomen.

Shira was a doll created to perfectly replicate a human female, only her skin was made of metal and her insides were mechanical with wires acting like veins through her body with a computer-like brain in her head telling everything what to do like a human brain. The only thing about her that made her seem truely real was the organ that once held her virginity that was taken by her own creator. Lark seemed to ignore her words as he slowly leaned down to take her cold metallic lips with his warm ones made of skin and Shira kissed back just as deeply as Lark had done so while she slowly slid her hands deeply up his chest to his shoulders as he purred deeply against her lips. She then slowly broke the kiss only to receive a faint growl of protest from the gentle man of blue and she slowly moved back away from him until she lightly touched the wall with her back while staring into his exposed eye that she knew was dimly glowing as Lark watched her. Her cheeks were burning and she knew what look she displayed in her eyes as she slowly moved her hands up to slide the top of her dress downward to expose her black lace bra that had no straps.

He was in front of her again in seconds while the top-hat he had been wearing hit the floor and he slid his hands possessively from her neck to her shoulders, along her arms and to her wrists before he pinned her arms above her head gently, his eye giving her a "keep them there until I tell you otherwise" look through his blue bangs. Shira gave a promising silent nod before Lark pressed his lips deeply against hers while his hands ran slowly along her sides and she felt a pair of rose vines use their thorns to slowly pull up the skirt of her dress. He then silently pleaded access to her cavern by running his tounge skillfully along her bottom lip and her lips parted slowly to receive the warm intruder while her tounge, made from an elastic material with a natural taste of vanilla with breath of honey, moved out of hiding to meet his. The purr she received vibrated on his tounge as it slowly moved around hers slowly to savor her taste while she moved hers in unison with his and she felt his hands push her dress the rest of the way down to the floor before they took a hold of the back of her knees to bend her knees against his waist while supporting her weight easily as he held her up against the wall. Shira instantly put her legs around his waist while Lark carefully worked on removing her panties and she kept her arms above her head like he had commanded her to do so.

"Sing for me, my angel..." Lark said softly as he began un-buttoning and un-zipping his trousers.

The room was soon filled with Shira's faint gasps and soft moans as Lark gently entered her and instantly began to gentle thrust in and out of her womanhood and his deep, seductive purrs vibrated against her ear with each thrust he gave that slowly became faster and abit harder, Shira's faint gasps and soft moans becoming louder moans with each increase of speed and roughness and his own deep purrs became male seductive groans. She slowly began to return the motion matching his thrusting perfectly and his groans became moans of approval that grew louder along with her own moans as they equally sped up and hardened the unity. Shira then began to scream aloud her pleasure as Lark instantly became rough and rapid with his thrusts into his mechanical angel and Lark began to groan loudly in bliss, then the two of them cried out in release while holding onto each other tightly and Shira slowly became limp in Lark's arms while he held her gladly against him with a gentle purr rumbling in his chest.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The lights in the theatre slowly dimmed once the theatre was full and Yugi slowly removed the hood his trench coat while a spot-light was set upon the stage as Shira walked out onto the stage in her black dress and black high heels. The theatre remained silent as she moved to the center of the stage while the spot-light followed her and she slowed to a stop once she was facing the crowd. Back-stage, Lark watched her intently while Scarlet stood beside him with her sword in hand and Shira turned her head to smile at the both of them before slowly turning her head forward as her smile faded. She hadn't been under a spot-light since the night she met the four Alices and she hadn't had an audience since Aaron, her creator, had passed away from over-dosing his medication while he was in the nursing home. The memories that ran through her mind were ones that she believed were gone and she smiled faintly as she felt a crystal-clear tear fall from her right eye.

"There once was a Dreamer...  
>Who made him, unknown. The Dreamer thought one day, "I'm tired of this world...<br>How can I make Wonderland real?"

The Dreamer dreamed and dreamed, day by day. Then, he came up with the perfect four to play Alice "If I send these four into Wonderland...  
>Maybe they will form a paradise..." Shira said softly before the spot-light shut off and music began to play.<p>

The spot-light slowly shown once more on the stage to reveil a black forest scenery with a red sky background and Scarlet sang as she slowly moved out onto the stage:

"The First Alice was a wrathful woman of the Spade. She held a sharpened blade in her hand so couragously. She never hesitated to slay all within her way. Many paths of blood followed her through Wonderland"

As she sang the first verse, she held up her sword and swung it skillfully through the air while she continued to walk across the stage, splatters of blood following her slashes that formed a path slowly under her feet.

"Deep into the forest, this Alice was cornered. She was then captured and imprisoned as a murderer. Had it not been for the paths she'd left behind...  
>No one would have ever thought that she had ever been."<p>

As Scarlet filled the last verse, a crowd of shadow figures formed around her and cornered her against the largest of black trees in the scenery, then a pair of silver chains grabbed her from behind by the wrists to raise her up off the ground against the tree as her sword fell to the floor with her head hanging low before she slowly raised it with the last lyric to wink at the crowd as her end.

The shadowy figures dispersed and the red sky background shifted into a blue in an instant once the spot-light left Scarlet and another fell on Lark as he stood in the center of the stage with his right gloved hand on his top-hat while his head was lowered and his eye that was exposed was closed as he sang:

"The Second Alice was a fragile man of the Diamond. A graceful, beautiful songbird in the world of Wonderland. He sang his twisted melodies to a crowd of faceless shadows. Creating the image of the sick and the disturbed with his every lark"

As he sang, Lark slowly removed his top-hat and opened his exposed eye to look at the crowd, then closed it again as he rose a gloved hnd as if he was giving an opera while the shadowed figures returned behind him with no faces, only crimson smiles.

"Deadly, yet so beautiful, a voice just like a rose. He was shot by a mad-man who silenced him to death. A single rose bloomed in the place of the gun-shot wound. And everyone showed their tears as he sang with final breath"

As Lark finished his verse, a larger shadowed figure moved behind him as he gracefully turned and a loud gun-shot sounded through the theatre, then Lark fell gently onto his back with his head facing the crowd as a red rose bloomed in the place of the "wound" while shadowed figures surrounded him and he ended with a quick close of his exposed eye.

The shadows dispersed once the spot-light left Lark and the blue sky behind the dark forest trees shifted into green and a castle scenery took over with some of the dark trees remaining as Emerald emerged onto the stage in a green dress similar to Shira's, only the skirt was shorter, going to her knees, and had no sleeves at all, as she sang"

"The Third Alice was an innocent young girl of Club. An enchanting, graceful figure in the world of Wonderland. She charmed every and any man who laid his hands on her. Soon, a strange green country became her odd domain"

As she sang, Emerald twirled bout the stage gracefully, only slowing to a stop within the arms of a shadowed figure while she held her arms gracefully out on either side of her as two more shadowed figures occupied her hands with their crimson smiles as the third behind her laid his chin on her shoulder while his arms remained secure around her waist, then she slowly moved her hands away and freed herself as the shadows dispersed upon her doing so.

"Soon, she rose into the throne to be the country's Queen. As years past, the Queen succumbed to paranoia of her impending death. Her eyes soon were blinded with the images of death. Through eternal rule, she would never give up her crown"

As she sang, her dress slowly morphed into what she normally wears while a throne made of shadows formed behind her for her to slowly sit in, then she pointed to her bandages that blinded her eyes before she slowly lowered her arm to the arm-rest. The spot-light instantly left her and the green sky background of the dark forest and castle slowly shifted into yellow.

"And as this passed, two children explored the woods." Rona sang in the dark.

"Through many doors and hallways, they knew they'd never part." Ronald joined.

"They found an invitation to the Queen...it was the..." Rona began.

"Ace of Hearts!" the twins sang in unison as a yellow heart appeared on the stage.

"The Fourth Alice was a duo of curiosity. Both became lost and could not find where they began. And so they went through many doors and down so many paths. A brother and a sister whose bond would never break"

As the twins sang, they both skipped out onto the stage with two spot-lights on them as they joined one another over the heart with hands instantly entwining, then they walked side-by-side across the stage and completly around in a circle through different colored doorways on a crimson path until they were standing in the heart again facing the crowd, then Ronald turned his head towards Rona on "brother" and Rona did the same to him on "sister" before both turned their heads to the audience.

"A stubborn elder sister..." Rona sang while turning her body slightly away from the audience while bending her right knee innocently.

"A witty younger brother..." Ronald sang as he did the same with his body while adding a touch to his top-hat.

"They soon wandered too far into..." Rona began.

"The First Alice's Wonderland..." the twins sang in unison.

A shadowed figure slowly came up behind them while the sound of feet crunching leaves was heard and the figure, shaped like Scarlet, smiled a crimson smile before the spot-light shut off.

"They were never woken from their terrifying dream..." Rona sang as the spot-light slowly returned to reveil Rona and Ronald sitting back-to-back in the center of the yellow heart that slowly turned crimson.

"Forever doomed to wander through..." Ronald began.

"This twisted fairytale!" the twins finished in unison.

A red spot-light shined on Scarlet as she remained hung against the tree by her wrists and she was a distance from left back-stage from the audience's point of view. Lark soon had a blue spot-light shined upon him while he remained lying motionless in a pool of "blood" and a rose remained bloomed over his "wound" while he lay a distance behind the twins. A green spot-light soon shined on Emerald while she remained in her throne that was near right back-stage from the audience's point of view and a shadowed figure stood at her side in the form of the Grim Reaper. A yellow spot-light slowly shined on Rona and Ronals while they remained in their position. The stage was soon pitch black once the music stopped.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The music returned only to background the spot-lights returning to the stage on the four Alices that stood in a row on the center of the stage, from left-to-right from the audience's point of view, the row started with Scarlet, then Lark, the twins, Emerald, and Shira and the theatre was filled with applause while Yugi, Atem, Kaiba, and Mokuba sat in their seats in the front row too confused on what they should be feeling in response to the performance other than suspicion. The females in the group of Alices curtsied, including Shira, while the males bowed while removing their top-hats and placing them to their chests as the audience continued to applaud. The Kaiba brothers and the spikey-haired look-alikes were outside just as the applause was dimming down and Kaiba opened the back right door of his limo with an expression on his face that screamed this was a waste of time for him. As Mokuba lowered to follow his older brother into the limo, Atem looked at Yugi silently before he nodded towards the theatre as Rona walked out of the building and Yugi looked at him while nodding towards the limo without saying a word, then Atem silently lowered into the limo while Yugi turned towards Rona as she slowed to a stop in front of him. The light from the street light above them dimmed the glow in her single exposed golden eye.

Staring into her eye up close, Yugi didn't feel the chill of her smile from beneath the bandages that hid the rest of her face and he could see the deep loneliness woven into the gold of her exposed iris better than before, though he had to ask where the loneliness came from with the way her eye had sparkled on stage while she was side-by-side with her brother. Rona remained silent as she continued to stare up at him like a doll with one missing eye and she still said nothing as she stepped closer to him slowly while placing a hand on his chest to keep Yugi frozen where he was. She continued staring up at him with her single exposed eye while her hand remained on his chest lightly, then her hand slowly moved away as she moved back from him and a yellow rose slowly bloomed on his black shirt, that he wore under his trench coat, over where her hand was. The horse-drawn carriage slowly pulled up behind the limo a few seconds later while Rona held the hand she touched Yugi with to her chest while she still held the eye-contact with Yugi awhile longer and Yugi continued to stare back until she rushed over to the carriage while he watched her as she stepped onto one of the steps leading up to the driver's bench. She slowly removed her top-hat and gave a slight bow while still hanging onto the carriage as Lark gave a snap of the reins to get the horses to ride off away from the theatre along the street.

"What was that all about?" Atem asked, breaking Yugi out of his trance.

Yugi looked over at the ex-Pharaoh who was again beside him, then looked down at the yellow rose that had bloomed on his shirt, "I'm not sure..."

Atem carefully removed the rose from Yugi's shirt, the rose big enough to fit in his palm, and held it to Yugi before Yugi slowly took it from him, "Bit of an odd gesture..."

"Yeah...no kidding..." Yugi replied as the rose slowly grew a thorned stem and leaves on it's own.

The limo ride to Yugi's house was silent with Yugi mostly being occupied with the yellow rose that Rona had planted on his shirt and Kaiba repeatedly muttering about how he wasted precious time just to see a freakshow before he was gently elbowed in his side by Mokuba. Atem was staring forward the whole ride home as he pondered what she had said before the performance, about the servant of the Fifth Alice, and he developed a feeling in his gut that told him this was the being that had brought him into the world of the living, of course he wasn't complaining. However, the way the twins had gave their clue made it sound like she did this for a reason related to the Fifth Alice and Atem had another feeling in his gut that told him this Sixth Alice may be more sinister than the four all four men in the limo had witnessed. The ex-Pharaoh glanced over adter having not heard Kaiba's muttering for quite some time and was met with the sight of the younger Kaiba having his head laid in Kaiba's lap while Kaiba was brotherly stroking Mokuba's hair like he used to when Mokuba was much younger. Atem then looked over at Yugi to see his ex-hikari still staring at the rose with violet eyes filled with confusion and curiosity and Atem put a hand brotherly on Yugi's knee before Yugi met eyes with Atem silently, then he gently put his hand over Atem's in a brotherly manner.

As the limo slowly pulled up to the game shop, the rose in Yugi's hand brightened in color and Yugi stared at it for awhile before he silently exited the limo with Atem following him closely while Kaiba exited on the other side after freeing his lap without waking Mokuba. Yugi slowly opened the glass door before entering with both men following behind him and Roland rushed in from the living room with Ann pouncing onto him while also knocking him to the ground. Kaiba kept his chuckles to himself while Yugi and Atem chuckled faintly in amusement as Ann repeatedly licked Roland's face playfully while wagging her tail back and forth as she ignored his "down!"'s and "heel!"'s. Yugi whistled softly and Ann's ears twitched before she lifted her head quickly to look at Yugi, then she quickly rushed over and got up on her hind legs with her front paws on yugi's abdomen as he lovingly scratched her ears. Roland slowly made it to his feet once Ann was occupied by Yugi's petting and he tensed once he realised his employer had been watching the whole time and now was internally struggling not to laugh, Atem tried not laughing himself at seeing Kaiba's struggling.

"I hope she didn't beat you up too badly, Roland." Yugi said while still affectionately scratching Ann's ears.

"Nonsense! As Mr. Kaiba's bodyguard, I can stand against anything, even a canine!" Roland replied proudly while fixing his glasses.

Yugi and Atem both looked down at Little Ann and she shook her head slowly with a doggish groan. Yugi gently scratched her head before he gently set her down on all fours and he then walked into and through the living room to go upstairs while Little Ann followed him closely with a wagging tail. He gently laid the yellow rose on the desk in his room before removing his trench coat and he then tossed it onto his bed while keeping his black t-shirt and black jeans with matching colored boots on. Yugi slowly walked over to the desk to pick up the rose once more and he held it tenderly in his hand while he thought of the loneliness he saw in her eyes before the carriage led her away, though he still couldn't come up with a explaination for why she felt such loneliness with a twin brother at her side and others around her that are just like her. Then again, he was also pondering on why he cared.

He filled a vase his grandfather gave him from Egypt with water and placed the rose into the water-filled vase before he left the room with Ann following behind him closely while wagging her tail. Yugi then walked down the stairs with Ann still following him closely while still wagging her tail and he slowly walked through the living room into the former game shop to join the other men. The Kaiba brothers turned to leave after Yugi entered the former game shop with Roland following them and Yugi slowly followed behind Roland while Atem walked alongside him with Little Ann behind them as they walked out of the game shop to Kaiba's limo. Roland got in front with the driver while the Kaiba brothers lowered into the back seat and Atem got in before he gently helped getting Ann into the limo, then Yugi slowly lowered into the limo with Ann sitting on the floor between Atem and Yugi, Kaiba sitting at the very end of the seat across from them so he could sit across from Mokuba. As soon as Yugi gently closed the limo door, the driver drove to the Kaiba mansion and Yugi tried not showing his nervousness about being transformed back into what he was before he was attacked.

Atem comfortly placed a hand on Yugi's knee in a brotherly manner with Yugi's hand going over his hand brotherly and gently squeezing while Atem returned the gentle squeeze to Yugi's knee. The limo ride was spent with Atem trying to get Yugi's mind off the machine, the only thing that seemed to work was bringing up memories of the adventures they shared with on another, and the ex-Pharaoh couldn't help but poke fun at the reincarnation of his High Priest, which resulted in Kaiba sending multiple glares his was while Mokuba chuckled. Yugi eventually relaxed completely while Ann slowly relaxed as well and Atem smiled as he felt the relaxation in his former-hikari, though he himself could not relax at the thought of what might happen to Yugi if something went wrong. He could not shake the feeling and he for sure knew that Little Ann couldn't either, and Atem knew for sure she knew what was going on without anyone having to say a thing. Atem knew well by now that she was smarter than the average canine.

Once they arrived at the mansion and the limo slowed to a stop, Yugi opened the door on his side to get out, but he was stopped by Ann grabbing a hold of his pant waist and he looked back at her to see a pleading look in her chocolate-brown eyes while a begging whine escaped her throat as Yugi continued to stare into her eyes. The former-duelist slowly turned towards her and Ann moved up onto the seat as he held out his arms to capture Ann in a warm, reassuring embrace while he ran his fingers through her fiery-colord furr and whispered soothingly. Little Ann relaxed in his arms against her own will to the soothingness in Yugi's voice and let out a doggish noise that said, "I hate it when you do that..." and Yugi chuckled faintly before he slowly released his canine companion from his arms to look Ann in the eye before he slowly turned to exit the vehicle. Ann silently followed after he was fully out of the limo and Yugi closed the limo door behind her gently while moved over beside Atem. The ex-Pharaoh gently stroked her head and could easily tell that she was still at unease without her eyes meeting his to show the emotion in those chocolate-brown orbs.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Mokuba carefully hooked the black leather belts firmly around Yugi's neck, biceps, wrists, torso, waist, thighs, and ankles while Yugi lay motionless on a cold, metallic table and Atem slowly walked over to Yugi's other side to place his hand over Yugi's gently. Yugi clutched Atem's hand gently in his while he looked up at the ex-Pharaoh to fake a slight smile and Atem had to fake one as well while he returned the gentle grip to Yugi's hand. The two remembered the time their hands connected during Atem's battle with Bakura and Yugi gave Atem strength through their bond that could not be broken, even by death nor could it break by fate. Now, Yugi could feel the exchange of what courage Atem had to give in this situation and Yugi slowly closed his eyes at the feeling that went through his mind, calmly waved around his heart, and relaxed every muscle in his body while Atem felt the same effects. The Millenium Puzzle gave a flash of gold light at the spark of their bond and Atem blinked rapidly at a flash he received that was too fast for him to clearly see what the item was showing him.

"Atem? If something happens...will you take care of Ann?" Yugi asked softly while looking up at Atem with slightly opened eyes.

Atem blinked out of his trance upon Yugi saying his name, then frowned slightly as he ran his free hand through Yugi's hair, "Don't talk like that, Yugi. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Yugi gripped Atem's hand tighter, "Promise me you will...even if something doesn't go wrong..."

Atem blinked slowly as his features softened after the ex-Pharaoh was reminded Yugi had been lonely for so long that Ann became his closest companion until Atem had returned, "...Alright, Yugi...I will take care of her if something happens."

Yugi smiled a real smile as he slowly closed his eyes, "Thank you, Atem..."

Atem smiled faintly, "Your welcome, Yugi..."

The ex-Pharaoh slowly bent over to gently place his forehead brotherly over Yugi's while he slowly closed his eyes and both men took a quiet inhale as the feeling of their mental bond re-surfaced after five years of seperation. It was at this moment that the Millenium Puzzle flashed once more and Atem was sent into an illusion created by the puzzle itself and when he opened his eyes, Atem found himself sitting on the fountain of stone in the center of the courtyard of the palace 5,000 years into the past. Atem looked around slowly before he realised that there was someone next to him and he widened his eyes slightly as he saw what appeared to be a six-year-old Yugi, with tan skin and wearing something similar to what Atem had worn when he was a child, hanging slightly over the edge of the fountain. He opened his mouth to say something and what came out was not what he had in mind, "Heba, be careful, you'll hurt yourself." He then felt himself move against his will off the fountain and his arms reached out to carefully gather the smaller boy into his arms, despite the boy's protests until he was pressed gently against Atem's six-year-old chest.

"You'll hurt yourself doing that, brother..." the younger Atem said as he held "Heba" against him brotherly.

Heba looked up at Atem apologetically and the present-day Atem, through his younger half's eyes, saw that Heba's eyes were the same shape and color as Yugi's as well as his hair, "I'm sorry, big brother. I'll be more careful. I promise."

Atem was brought back into reality after the sound of his father calling his name and the ex-Pharaoh blinked his eyes open to see that he was still bent over with his forehead against Yugi's, then he slowly removed his forehead from Yugi's and slowly freed his hand from Yugi's limp one before he slowly walked over to climb the staircase into the observation room with the Kaiba brothers. Mokuba was by the controls opposite from the large observing window where Kaiba stood, computer screens under the window showing Yugi's brain activity, heart rate, oxygen levels, and stress meter. Right now everything was at a calm pace before of Yugi falling asleep, but Atem became nervous at the thought of what might happen if something goes wrong. Kaiba looked over at Atem and sympathetically said that he and Mokuba had a Plan B if something indeed went wrong and Atem just nodded silently while pondering on the vision the Puzzle had shown him. He wondered if there were pieces of his memory that he was still missing. But then, he thought, why was he able to pass over to the afterlife if there indeed were memories he still didn't possess?

"Having a mental freak-out?" Kaiba asked as he examined each monitor screen.

"You know those are my specialty..." Atem replied while slowly crossing his arms.

Kaiba nodded faintly, then looked back at Mokuba to signal him to place the machine and Mokuba obediantly did so with an equally silent nod by typing in the code that will put the machine in place. The machine itself was a large silver robotic arm with a silver disk attacked to the end with an opening that led into a large glass dome that the arm was bound to. The mechanical arm slowly positoned the disk over Yugi without touching him and Atem silently looked over at Kaiba, silently wondering what the "trigger" will be. Mokuba silently typed in another code into the keyboard and the scent of fresh blood was transfered into Yugi by the opening in the disk. At first, Kaiba didn't see anything happen until Yugi's heart-rate suddenly flat-lined, but the brain was still active and the meter was moving wildly as Yugi snapped his eyes open to reveil bright crimson irises before he began to thrash about in his binds that never budged, Kaiba placed a hand on Atem's shoulder to keep the ex-Pharaoh from rushing to Yugi's aid as Yugi continued to thrash about while releasing inhuman growls and slight roars of anger.

The opening in the disk glowed white and Yugi let out a loud screech of angry pain as vibrations were sent throughout Yugi's system and into his mind that threatened to sever the man and the beast. Kaiba glanced at the heart-rate monitor to see that it was still flat-lined while Yugi's brain activity worsened and Mokuba typed in a code to increase the vibrations, this causing Yugi screech painfully for a few minutes until he suddenly went limp and motionless on the table. Atem widened his eyes at this and rushed out of the room to quickly move down the stairs and be at Yugi's side. The ex-Pharaoh whispered Yugi's name gently to try and get a response, but the young man didn't respond. Mokuba slowly moved to Kaiba's side just as the creature living in Yugi's heart dropped onto the floor of the dome while Yugi began to shift slightly, much to Atem's releif. The creature was thin and skeleton-like with the body frame of a dog, the head of a dragon, legs of a large feline, tail of a reptile, and wings of a bat.

Black, leather skin covered it's exposed bones while it hissed low and threateningly as it's wolf-like eyes glowed a bright crimson while it also bared it's gray-colored fangs as Kaiba slowly approached the glass, Mokuba being busy assisting Atem in un-strapping Yugi from the metallic table. The creature hissed darkly as it slowly walked closer to where Kaiba was standing casually with no fear in his icey blue eyes and it turned sideways slightly in a taunting manner that didn't seem to phase the billionair at all nor did the sight of the creature's rib cage as it shifted with each venomous-sounding breath it took. Yugi remained limp, though conscious, as Atem carefully removed him from the metallic table while the ex-Pharaoh glanced over towards Kaiba as the creature merely stared at Kaiba with little amusement towards Kaiba's superior look and the creature gave a quiet snort that caused a toxin-colored fog to form on the glass before the creature slowly moved to the center of the dome. The billionair huffed silently before he slowly turned his back to the creature to follow Mokuba up the staircase that led to the entryway of the secret passageway to his lab and he helped Atem walk Yugi out of his garage while Mokuba sealed the passageway, then he slowly exited the garage while he closed the door behind him before he slowly walked through the large kitchen. Kaiba and Atem were busy covering Yugi up in one of the guest beds by the time Mokuba arrived in the doorway and Ann jumped up onto the bed while Yugi instantly slept so she could lay down beside him while Atem sat at the other side of him.

"Thank you, Kaiba...for everything..." Atem said softly while looking up at the billionair.

"Your welcome. Just make sure he doesn't leave this bed until his headache is gone, along with the aches in his body." Kaiba replied.

Atem nodded silently before he turned his attention back to Yugi as his former lighter-half continued to sleep deeply and Atem slowly blinked a few times at realising that Yugi looked just like he did when Yugi was 18-years-old and the ex-Pharaoh carefully pushed Yugi's bangs out of his face to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, then he blinked again once more after seeing that it wasn't his imagination playing with him. Yugi's face was more innocent and his eyes were round once more, he had less bangs, and the pureness in his features returned. Yugi's appearance brought back the memory of their parting and Atem slowly ran a hand through Yugi's hair at the memory of the tears that his former-hikari had shed before the ex-Pharaoh crossed to the other side to be with his family and his friends. For five years, Atem was forbidden to watch Yugi from the heavens by the request of the three Egyptian gods themselves and he never did find the reason no matter how many times he questioned them while his father, Aknamkanon, stood at his side with a frown of concern always on his face at seeing Atem in constant despair while his mother, Queen Atinmerit, tried calming her son's spirit by reassuring him that Yugi was living well, though it brought little peace to Atem, the youngest known Pharaoh in his dynasty. After seeing the life Yugi had led, Atem had wished he had fought harder to watch over his lighter-half and Atem was in too deep within his own thoughts about what he could've done back in the afterlife to do so that he didn't notice Kaiba place a family-like hand on his shoulder after the billionair noticed that Atem was once again stuck in a daze.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Yugi slept for the rest of the night and woke up around 6:30am while Ann lay beside him and Atem fell asleep on the other side of him with his back against the head-board, then Yugi slowly woke up to the sight of his own head resting brotherly in Atem's lap while his body had turned sideways and he could feel Ann's head resting on his hip. He slowly lifted his head and found that Atem's arm was subconsciously wrapped around his shoulders in a brotherly manner while Yugi slowly looked up at the sleeping ex-Pharaoh only to see the same calm, peaceful expression he had always seen all the time back when he used to watch Atem sleep. Atem rarely ever had a calm expression in the waking world and it, for some reason, made Yugi somewhat intrigued to see this unfamiliur side of the ex-Pharaoh. Yugi slowly laid his head back down while still staring up at Atem silently and Atem continued to sleep while a peaceful, calm expression remained on his face, forehead freed from the wrinkles of emotion and eyebrows not pushed together like they would whenever Atem was dueling. Yugi slowly reached up to carefully move one of Atem's bangs out of the ex-Pharaoh's sleeping face and a pair of slanted violet eyes with over-lapping eyelashes opened half-way upon him doing so and Atem slowly blinked them the rest of the way open before his eyes met Yugi's.

"Sorry I woke you..." Yugi said softly while moving his arm back down, his voice the normal pitch it was before Atem had left.

"I was already half-awake anyway...how are you feeling?" Atem asked softly.

"Sore...a little sore...other than that, I'm okay. You?" Yugi replied.

"Just concerned about you is all. You were sleeping for so long, Kaiba was afraid he put you in a coma." Atem replied with a faint chuckle.

Yugi chuckled faintly, "I didn't mean to scare anyone. I tried fighting it."

"I know...I'm just glad I get to see an old face again now that your heart is free from the darkness..." Atem replied softly.

Yugi blinked, ""Old face?" I look older?"

Atem chuckled softly as he slowly shook his head, then he pointed towards a mirror and Yugi lifted his head slowly to look at the mirror that was situated just above the dresser that sat with it's back against the wall opposing the foot of the bed. Yugi's eyes widened at the sight of his more innocent facial features that had returned while he slowly sat up without disturbing Ann and he slowly lifted a hand to his cheek to be sure it was really his face and his reflected hand followed the motion. He then slowly lowered his hand from his face while taking in every detail he thought he had completly lost, then he looked at Atem, who had a slight smile on his face the whole time, and Yugi hugged onto his former darker-half abit too quickly than intended which forced a slight gasp out of the ex-Pharaoh as his back hit the head-board gently while his arms brotherly wrapped around Yugi. The two soul brothers held the embrace while Ann shifted awake and Atem slowly moved his hand through Yugi's hair while his other arm stayed around his former lighter-half while they held the embrace. Yugi had his head turned sideways against Atem's chest to hear Atem's heart-beat while Atem ran his hand through Yugi's hair and their arms remained around each other in a brotherly manner as Ann moved up slowly to lay her head on one of the pillows while she ramained laying down beside the two soul brothers.

"...Atem?...Remember when our foreheads touched?" Yugi asked softly.

"Yes, I remember...why?" Atem asked.

"...Nothing...I just missed this feeling...our bond, I mean..." Yugi replied.

"Me too, Yugi...me too..." Atem said softly as he tightened his arm slightly around Yugi.

"Mmhm..." Yugi sighed as he nuzzled abit deeper into Atem's warmth.

Meanwhile...

Emerald silently stared out her bedroom window with her blinded eyes as she stroked the back of a white rabbit she held in her hands while it stared out the window with her through a pair of bright green eyes and she gently played with one of it's ears, then she looked over her shoulder as her bedroom door slowly opened and she smiled feeling Lark's presence, "Lark...my naughty little songbird...~"

"Yes, my lady?" Lark replied as he slowly closed the door behind Yami.

Emerald slowly turned towards him in her forest-green silk gown that only went down to her mid-thigh, exposed her chest bone and clevage, had spaghetti straps that would have exposed her thin, slender arms if not for the forest-green robe of silk she wore. Her light-green hair was left to fall over her shoulders and down her back and Lark silently examined her as she slowly walked towards him with a gentle sway in her hips. Emerald's room was a dark-green with emerald colored dressers and nightstands and a make-up table with rose leaves designing the exterior of the reflecting glass. Her bed was jade-green underneath the light-green silk sheets that matched her silk pillow cases, a large rose bud design with vines designing her head-board. She lowered down to release the rabbit from her grasp and she slowly rose back up while Lark opened the door for the creature to scurry only to close it as soon as the rabbit was gone, doing so without breaking the eye contact.

"Lark...you and your little dolly kept me up last night...~" Emerald said softly with a purr as she slowly pushed his top-hat off the top of his head.

"Forgive me, my lady..." Lark said softly while trying not to purr as Emerald slid a finger from his shirt collar down to his pant belt buckle in a slow snake-like motion.

Emerald smiled felinishly, "I'll forgive you...after I punish you...~"

Lark blinked his glowing blue eye slowly before she gently pulled him towards her bed and slowly switched positions with him, then she gently pushed Lark back onto her bed and purred faintly seeing Lark's cheeks darkened slightly while his anticipation easily showed in his glowing blue eye. She slowly bent over to gently feel around for his buckle, "accidentally" brushing her finger tips over Lark's weakest spot to earn herself a soft gasp and a slight jerk, before she slowly un-buckled his leather belt and slowly pulled it free before she un-buttoned his pant button and un-zipped his pant zipper. She then slowly pulled Lark's pants and boxers down to his knees while he deeply purred in anticipation as his arms slowly rose above his head to grip the sheets while her magesty slowly lowered between his obediantly spread legs and he arched his back a few seconds later with a loud gasp as she took his member into her mouth skillfully and the room soon was filled with Lark's soft moans and heavy pants as Emerald's head bobbed at a medium pace and her mouth sucked hard on Lark's extension. He began to loudly moan and quickly pant as her head bobbed faster and sucked even harder on his manhood while he gently ran his fingers into her hair, then his loud moans turned into slight screams as Emerald's bobs became rapid and the sucks became rough and he gripped tightly at her bed-sheets with his head thrashing back and forth. As his body tensed for his releasement, he tried to warn her verbally only to find that he was unable to make the words out without stuttering and he let out a loud cry of bliss as he released heavily into Emerald's cavern to eargely drank his fluids without protest. As the Blue Alice panted breathlessly Emerald slowly crawled up his trembling body to make lip-content that was deep and passionate and Lark eagerly returned the kiss while taking a gentle hold of either side of Emerald's face before her kisses drifted to the side of his neck where his Diamond mark was and her tounge and lips became instantly occupied as he gently moaned and purred. Her kisses to the mark became gently nips that had Lark purring even further and she felt her hands slowly un-button his shirt and part the fabric to reveil his muscular chest with pale skin and sculpted appearance.

"Emerald...we mustn't...the twins might hear...~" Lark purred softly as Emerald rubbed his chest deeply and snakishly slow while he laid his head back against the matress.

"Your little dolly will keep them busy...~" Emerald replied in between kisses to his neck.

She then slowly sat up ontop of him while running her fingernails slowly and gently down his chest before Lark slowly sat up to remove her robe from her body while she pushed his upper clothing off his body and they once again kissed just as passionately as before while Lark added gently rubs to her sides. Her body was his temple, and he was her tool, so each kiss meant nothing nor did the touches. The only thing that mattered between them was Lark rolling over ontop of her and pressing her wrists into the matress above her head before the room was filled with the sounds of Emerald's loud moans as Lark thrusted into her cavern deeply and fast without giving her time to adjust, just how she always wanted it, and his male groans blended perfectly with her loud moans that became slight screams as his thrusts became harder and faster and his groans became louder as well. Lark's thrusts became rapid and harsh and her screams became loud cries of pleasure and his loud groans became loud moans, then their loud cries of release shook the room around them and Lark fought to keep himself from collapsing ontop of her, for he knew better. Once she was asleep, and Lark was dressed, he silently left the room without an inch of shame and passed by a shadow figure without noticing that held the same rabbit from before and the figure silently knelt to release the creature before the figure silently decended down the hallway towards Emerald's room.

"Time to remind Emerald who she belongs to..." a voice said from the figure.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

While Lark decended down the stairs, the shadowed figure silently poked his head into Emerald's room through the door as if it was opened. Emerald lay on her front with her light-green silk sheets laying just up to her mid-back while her hair lay spread out over her silk matress cover as she slept peacefully and the shadowed figure seemed to shakily sigh at her beauty from the doorway from which her head faced away, but he could still imagine the blissful expression on her face as he slowly walked over and crawled slowly onto the bed to lay on his side behind her with a propped elbow keeping his upper body up. His shadowed hand slowly reached out to brush his fingertips along her spine and he traced the Club mark on the small of her back which made her subconsciously purr while she shifted without awakening and this made him swallow silently to her reaction while he felt slight heat transfer to his cheeks. Out of all the Alices, Emerald was always the one he treasured the most without showing it and he had no idea why, for he created her from his dreams and she was exactly the way he wanted her, but he never intended to fall in love with one of the Alices that he himself created and he never intended for Emerald to have this effect on him. He got increasingly jealous everytime Lark took her in the very bed he was now laying upon, he got angry whenever Lark would leave her while she slept and to tend to the mechanical doll girl, and he always found himself staring at only her from the shadows or through the eyes of the white rabbit she held dear.

"...Emerald...why must you be so oblivious to me...?" he asked softly as he gently brushed some of her green hair away from her back.

Of course, he knew he had no regrets for punishing only the Four Alices he'd transfered to this world, as far as they knew, but his true feelings were kept a complete secret to only himself and he'd never reveil that the only Alice he regrets punishing was Emerald, even if she never cared about his feelings before and even if she wouldn't accept them now. He admitted to himself that he missed looking into her green eyes as he slowly ran his fingertips lightly along the back of her neck to her lower back and she responded by subconsciously purring once more and she once again shifted without awakening, then he slowly leaned forward and brushed his lips against her bruised neck that bared a hickey from Lark's seemingly innocent lips. She subconsciously whispered Lark's name as she slowly turned onto her back with her head slowly rolling towards him and the shadowed figure felt his heart sink into the depths of anger even as he gently brushed the back of his hand along Emerald's cheek just under the bandages that, even with her eyes open, prevented her from seeing his face. She knew Lark by scent and he felt a sickening feeling develop in his core as he slowly took on the scent of the one Alice he hated the most for stealing his Emerald and he slowly lowered his head to brush his lips against her cheek while his fingertips slowly brushed between her exposed breasts that he tried to avoid looking at and she slowly leaned up and kissed his cold, shadowed cheek without noticing the deference in body temperature between him and Lark. He felt his heart skip a beat as he felt the warm brush of her lips against his cheek while he once again swallowed in his throat and he then slowly lowered his head to kiss the side of her neck gently while his hand slowly slid underneath the sheets that hid her lower regions from his view.

"L-Lark!" Emerald gasped as she quickly grasped onto the shadowed figure's shoulders while rolling her head back with her loud gasp after feeling a gentle massage to her clit of two fingers.

The shadowed figure frowned once more at the mention of Lark's name once more and Emerald let out a shakey loud moan while his massage to her clit became faster and rougher and he gently bit over where Lark had left a hickey on the the side of Emerald's neck only to earn himself another loud gasp as her grip on his shoulders tightened. Over and over again she whispered Lark's name and over and over again as her shakey moans grew louder and louder with the angered massages to her clit and probing to her vaginal entrance that grew more and more intense until she began screaming out loud and the faint growls in her ear earned himself purrs of delight since she didn't catch the anger in the growls and mistook it for sensual frustration. The shadowed figure continued his assault until he heard her whisper something he dreaded and with a rough jerk of his fingers into her entrance came Emerald's loud cry that shook the room and his nerves while her body rose against his that had loomed over hers so he could listen to her purrs, then she slowly lowered back down onto the matress with heavy shakened pants and her hands slowly fell to the matress limply while the figure stared down at her with pain-filled eyes and a tint of satisfaction that seemed to overcome the anger he felt in the pit of his heart. Emerald slowly reached up and brushed her fingertips against the side of his face and this made him slowly close his eyes with a blissful sigh that ended as soon as her strokes to his cheek did and he slowly opened his eyes to see her staring up at him with blinded eyes that he knew were felt with realization and slight fear. Her hand slowly left his cheek while she continued to silently stare up at him while her hand slowly took a gentle hold of one of his arms that remained under the sheets and he frowned slowly once more feeling her hand tremble and he silently jerked his fingers free of her entrance and from the sheets and this made her cry out painfully from the sudden jolt of pain that erupted from him doing so.

"...D-Dreamer..." Emerald whispered shakily as she felt the form leave the matress and she slowly turned her head towards where she sensed his presence from the vibrations in the floor while her arms shakily went around her chest.

The Dreamer silently stood with his back facing the matress as he heard her shuffle across the matress and he silently looked back at her to see her looking up at him while gripping onto his shadowed hand gently and he felt a lump slowly develop in his throat as he felt the want to see her eyes pleadingly look up at him instead of him having to look at her bandages. He silently turned back around towards her and leaned down to kiss her lips lightly with his cold ones that felt like cold rose petals against her summer warm, petal soft ones and she instantly responded while he kept his eyes opened to watch the crystal clear tears leave her eyes as her arms reached up to wrap around his neck. Her arms were stopped by a pair of cold hands before they were slowly lowered to her sides as he slowly broke the kiss to shake his head slowly at her before he slowly straightened himself and he slowly turned to leave until he felt a tug in his chest as he heard her begin to sob softly into her hands, then he slowly looked back at her and the tug in his chest got worse seeing her hiding her face from him as she sat on her knees now facing sideways. The Dreamer slowly turned back towards her before he slowly lowered down and whispered into her ear something he desired and she slowly stopped her sobs while she slowly raised her head from her hands to look up at him slowly and he slowly took a hold of her cheeks to wipe away her tears delicately from face while he stared into her bandaged eyes. Emerald slowly raised her hands to gently cover his hands with hers and she softly whispered something he wanted to hear all along from her lips.

The Dreamer slowly closed his eyes satisfyingly before slowly re-opening them to look at her and he smiled faintly, "...Do you mean it...Emerald...?"

"I do...please, don't leave me like this...I did what you asked..." Emerald said softly and pleadingly.

"...Say it again...and I promise to finish this..." the Dreamer said softly.

Emerald once again whispered the three dangerous words with passion in her voice as she repeatedly said it while he closed his eyes to store the sound of her voice whisper the words and he silently allowed her to dig her face into his chest while she continued to whisper the words into his chest, then he slowly opened his eyes feeling her tug on his shirt and he looked down to see her looking up at him through the bandages that blinded her eyes while repeatedly tugging his shirt pleadingly as she continued saying the words and she kept getting louder and louder by the minute until she was practically screaming the three words. The Dreamer finally silenced her with a deep kiss to her lips while his hands took a gentle hold of her shoulders and he slowly moved onto the matress while gently pushing her down onto her back to the matress as her arms slowly wrapped around his neck lovingly. He slowly broke the kiss to look down at her as he slowly rose her arms up above her head gently before he slowly sat up ontop of her to look down at her exameningly and he smiled faintly seeing her not move an inch while he continued examening her with his eyes before he slowly ran his fingertips carefully over the hand mark bruises on her sides as she shivered slightly underneath his touch with a shakey moan, then he slowly loomed over her once more to kiss her lips gently and earned himself an eager response while his finger nails slowly and deeper raked down along her sides while she shakily moaned into the kiss which gave him access to her cavern which he eagerly explored with his cold tounge that he extended in length so he could explore her entire cavern. Emerald shivered underneath him repeatedly while moaning softly into the kiss as his tounge slowly explored her mouth while his hands massaged her sides the way he knew would earn himself shivers of delight and soft loving purrs that vibrated against his lips during their kiss as she slowly began to reply by running her own tounge along and around his playfully while the kiss slowly became more passionate. Their hearts beated irregularly in unison with one another as their kiss deepened with their passion and he slowly broke it a few minutes later with faint pants that she equally shared.

"...Dreamer..." Emerald whispered shakily.

"Patience, Emerald..." the Dreamer playfully scolded while he slowly sat up ontop of her again as he began slowly unbuckling his pants.

"Dreamer...tell me your real name...please..." Emerald said pleadingly while looking up at him.

The Dreamer paused in his action to un-button his pants at her request and he blinked slowly down at her before resuming in un-buttoning his pants before he slowly loomed over her while lowering his head slowly to whisper something into her ear which she responded by smiling faintly and nodding in understanding as she felt him raise her bended legs around his waist while he situated between them. Meanwhile, the twins, Rona and Ronald, were occupied with playing tag in the garden while Lark watched them from a distance from his chair at the white table the Alices owned that sat on he back patio of their large mansion that looked aged and was painted black on the outside with black window frames and crimson doors in the back and front while Scarlet sat across from him with a book in her hands. Shira slowly walked out onto the patio with a small tray in her hands and a silver tea-pot sitting upon it with three cups sitting around it and she slowly walked over to the table to set the tray down gently while bending overslightly to do so, then she looked over slowly to see Lark looking over at her with his single exposed eye as his gloved hand slowly came up to run slowly along her back and down her back-side as she stayed perfectly still with a dark-red blush forming on her metallic cheeks before both of them turned their heads towards Scarlet after hearing a clearing of a throat and Lark slowly lowered his hand to his lap after seeing the slight glare in those crimson eyes he'd always tried to avoid while he muttered an apology to his "sister". Shira bowed her head apologetically before she carefully began pouring the fresh tea into the three tea cups and Scarlet muttered an acceptance while returning her gaze to her book while Shira lowered the tea pot after filling each tea cup. The mechanical doll girl then slowly passed around the cups to Lark and Scarlet before she slowly sat down in the empty chair with her own cup and she slowly looked over seeing Lark hold out one of his gloved hands that she soon slowly placed her own in before she gently returned the gentle grip he instantly placed on hers while he silently began sipping at his tea.

"...Lark, darling, you'd better start behaving before the children notice your naughtyness. Two women you sleep with live in this house and the agreement was no going back and forth between them between day and night." Scarlet said softly as she slowly closed her book before she met eyes with the blue-haired male sitting across from her.

"Forgive me, sister, but you know how Emerald is..." Lark replied softly while looking over as Shira laced her fingers with his.

"Mm...you used that excuse the first time and it didn't work." Scarlet said softly before she gently sipped at her tea, then she looked at Shira to thank her for making such fine tea.

"Thank you, Miss Scarlet." Shira replied shyly with a thankful nod of her head.

Scarlet nodded back in return before putting the cup to her crimson lips once more before she slowly looked over to where the twins were playing and she slowly blinked her eyes seeing them on their knees by a rose bush while looking as if they were looking at something, then she slowly lowered her tea cup to the table before slowly rising from the table and walking towards them to see what they were looking at so intensely. She slowed to a stop behind them and they slowly looked up at her with innocense while she looked at the bush to see a black pod-looking object nested in the rose bush while it pulsed crimson like a heart-beat and revieled a shadow of an infant in a fetal position within the pod. Scarlet slowly put a hand to her chest while she slowly stepped closer between the twins before she slowly lowered to the ground on her knees to gather the pod carefully into her arms and she cradled it against her chest motherly as the twins gathered on either side of her to look at it as it continued pulsing crimson. The Spade Alice slowly rose her eyes back to the rose bush and saw a white-haired rabbit laying motionless in the rose bush near where the pod was lain and a pool of blood was slowly forming underneath it as it laid in a position that made it seem like the small creature was only sleeping and Scarlet slowly looked back down at the pod while she slowly traced the area where the infant's head was from inside the pod only to receive no response since the infant was sleeping. Rona and Ronald continued to watch the pod before they slowly looked up at Scarlet questioningly.

"...He's getting closer...and it seems there is also a Fifth Alice we don't know much about..." Scarlet said softly.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Yugi slowly awoke a few minutes later to the smell of pancakes, eggs, and bacon and slowly blinked his eyes open to lift his head from Atem's chest slightly to look over towards the scent only to see two plates of two pancakes, scrambled eggs, and two bacon strips with two glasses of orange juice included sitting on a t.v. tray by the window. He slowly looked up at Atem to see the ex-Pharaoh still sleeping soundly, then he slowly removed himself from Atem's brotherly embrace without waking up Atem and he then slowly stood up and scratched the back of his head tiredly as he slowly walked over to the tray before his eyes met the yellow rose sitting by his plate. Yugi slowly picked it up to examine it closely before he sighed softly as he placed it back down on the tray and he picked up his plate and fork and he then sat slowly in the chair by the window to look out at the view from the bedroom only to see the Kaiba mansion courtyard while he began eating the pancakes silently. He looked over a few minutes later while he chewed on a bacon strip after hearing Atem tiredly groan only to see the ex-Pharaoh slowly turn onto his side with his back facing Yugi and he chuckled faintly without Atem hearing him after he remembered that Atem was never a morning person and he slowly finished off his breakfast before slowly standing up and placing his empty plate and fork back on the tray. Yugi then slowly picked up the rose again along with his glass of orange juice and he stared at it silently in thought as to how it got here.

Yugi shook his himself out of his thoughts and looked over at Atem, "Hey, Atem, you want your breakfast or not?"

Atem mummbled in reply as he pulled a pillow over his head.

Yugi rolled his eyes at the ex-Pharaoh's response and he slowly walked over to set his glass of orange juice on the nightstand along with the rose, then he gently sat down beside Atem on the matress while Ann slowly moved off the bed to dig into her own breakfast waiting for her in a pink dog bowl by the tray and Yugi poked the center of Atem's spine only to earn himself a slight jerk and a backwards glare from the ex-Pharaoh before Atem's head turned back forward as the pillow once again covered his head. Yugi poked the same place and yelped slightly as he got a pillow to the face before he roughly set it on his lap while glaring at the back of Atem's head before he roughly hit the back of Atem's head with the pillow. Atem sat up slightly to glare back at Yugi while the more innocent-looking male returned the same glare and Atem made a move towards Yugi that sent both men to the floor as they wrestled each other to the point they were both rolling on the floor while fighting to pin the other until a wrong move was made that forced their foreheads to clash and this resulted in both men laying on the floor beside one another while rubbing their aching foreheads before they once again glared at one another. A few minutes into the glaring a contest, their glares slowly softened, then they both grinned at one another and ended up bursting out laughing while they turned towards one another while occasionally reaching out to playfully and gently shove the other in the arm before they slowly became silent once they were out of breath. Atem smiled faintly seeing the old Yugi, the real Yugi, back in his presence and Yugi returned the smile widely after seeing Atem's familiur smile and after hearing Atem's laughter that he missed hearing for five years of loneliness.

"Oh, Yugi, I missed that so much..." Atem sighed in a peaceful manner.

"What? Us wrestling around like a bunch of idiots like we used to do in your Soul Room?" Yugi asked with a cocked eyebrow, though he always knew he could never pull it off as well as Atem did.

Atem smiled abit more and nodded, "Mmhm. I remember that Dark Magician always used to scold us for acting childish too."

"At least you can remember that better than you remembered your name..." Yugi said with a playful grin.

Atem's smile instantly faded into a blank expression.

Yugi raised another eyebrow, "Too soon?"

"Too late!" Atem replied before moving ontop of Yugi again with a playful growl and he pinned the smaller male to the carpet.

"Hey, you guys better not be rough-housing too much in here." Kaiba said from the doorway with his arms casually crossed.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Yugi yelped as Atem tickled Yugi's sides deeply while he squirmed underneath the ex-Pharaoh.

"Atem, he said "Uncle!"." Kaiba said as he slowly walked around the bed.

Atem huffed faintly as he slowly moved off of Yugi before the smaller male moved ontop of Atem while the ex-Pharaoh was off-guard to where Atem was on his front and Yugi poked the center of his back only to earn himself a slight yelp from Atem and a large jerk before Atem quickly flipped ontop of Yugi again quickly. Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he observed this before rolling his eyes and he silently left the room as he shook his head silently. The room was soon filled with Yugi's squealing laughter as Atem's hands dominated Yugi's ticklish sides while Yugi repeatedly pleaded for mercy and it fell on deaf ears as Atem only deepened his torment until Yugi yelped an apology, then Atem slowly pulled his hands away from Yugi's sides to ruffle Yugi's hair with a dominant grin on his face before he slowly stood and walked towards the tray after avoiding a swipe from Yugi's leg. Yugi slowly shuffled to his feet while rubbing his sore right side as he glared at Atem while he slowly walked over to gather his glass of orange juice while the ex-Pharaoh sat in the chair by the window across from where Yugi was sitting and Yugi slowly walked over to sit in the chair he originally sat in while he took a sip from the glass. The men slowly looked at each other while Yugi lowered the glass from his lips and chuckled again once more before Atem slowly began eating his breakfast as Yugi looked out the window at the courtyard once more.

"...You still feel sore?" Atem asked softly after a few minutes of silence.

"Besides my sore sides you probably bruised, no I'm not..." Yugi replied with a playful glare before drinking more of his orange juice.

Atem chuckled softly as he continued eating his breakfast slowly while Yugi's gaze returned to the courtyard and Atem blinked slowly while freezing his chewing on some pancake as he noticed the cheerful light that had returned to Yugi's eyes, then he slowly blinked once more to return his focus to finishing his breakfast and he slowly stood to place his empty plate and fork beside Yugi's before he picked up his own glass of orange juice while he gently scratched Ann's head after she approached him once she finished her own breakfast. She then slowly walked over to Yugi's side to earn herself a gently scratch to the back of her neck from her master as she sat down beside his chair and Atem slowly walked back over to sit back down in his chair with a peaceful sigh. Kaiba knocked on the door gently a few minutes later and the spiked-haired look-alikes motioned him to enter before Kaiba slowly did so with Mokuba following behind him closely. Atem playfully questioned whether or not Kaiba's outfit still fit him after he noticed that Kaiba was now wearing his own Battle City attire and Kaiba grinned slightly with a reply that suggested Atem remembered all of Kaiba's attempts to beat Atem at Duel Monsters and coming dangerously close to winning, then Atem coughed while muttering "Almost!" into his hand which earned him a gentle kick to the shin from the taller brunette. A 5' 8" brunette with brown shoulder-length hair and dark-brown eyes, thin bodily figure with slender bodily features and slightly innocent facial-features with pale skin, a black leather tank that slightly exposed her flat stomach with a black leather jacket over it, black leather pants and boots, and a black belt around her waist with two gun holisters on each hip, slowly entered the room only a few short moments later while Kaiba reminded Atem of the difference in their height which Atem replied that the difference between the height of both him and Kaiba is nothing between the difference of Atem's winning streak and Kaiba's loss record which earned him a kick to his heel from the billionair. Yugi blinked at the female as she casually stood beside Kaiba and the billionair slowly followed Yugi's gaze before looking back down at Yugi.

"This is Carina. Carina Ambrosia. I've been letting her stay here for a few days until her...uh..." Kaiba began.

"Go ahead, Kaiba. I don't care if they believe you or not. My pack Alpha is coming to get me soon and I need a place to stay since I'm being chased." Carina replied while crossing her arms casually.

""Pack Alpha?"" the two look-alikes questioned.

"Yeah...I'm a Werewolf. You know, one of the supernatural?" Carina replied simply while placing a hand on her hip.

"...That's a first, but highly believable considering all the weird things we've been through..." Yugi said softly.

"What's a Werewolf doing in a place like Domino?" Atem asked while looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I came here with my pack brothers and sisters after my father was assasinated, since I couldn't stay with my mother anymore for safety reasons, and I've been on the run ever since until I met this young man who took me in on the agreement that I don't eat his brother..." Carina replied while looking up at Kaiba.

Yugi and Atem both looked at Kaiba with a slight eyebrow raise.

"...Hey, you should've seen her when I found her on the streets...you would've made her agree to the same thing..." Kaiba replied while glaring at the both of them.

"How long has she been here, because you never said anything about her until now..." Yugi said while casually crossing his legs.

"She's been here for two weeks...I just never got around to tell you because of...recent events..." Kaiba replied softly.

Carina slowly walked over beside Yugi and slowly bent over to wrap her arms gently around him slowly, "I'm so sorry about your grandfather...I remember when I lost mine. It was tragic..."

Yugi blushed heavily at this and slightly put his free arm around her, "Uh...th-thank you..."

"Your welcome." Carina replied as she slowly pulled back to lightly kiss Yugi's cheek before she slowly released Yugi and she then slowly moved back to Kaiba's side while Yugi sat stiffly in his chair with a deeper blush.

"If you guys need anything, I'm going to be in my home office and Carina and Mokuba will be downstairs...just don't break anything if you guys are rough-housing." Kaiba said warningly.

"Big talk from someone who blew the roof off his own dueling dome with an evil Duel Monsters card..." Atem muttered before sipping his orange juice.

"I would've had you!" Kaiba growled with a darker glare towards Atem.

Atem blinked up at him, then slowly lowered the glass, "Think of it this way...now you know never to listen to evil voices in your head or else you'll end up paying large amounts of money out of your pocket on your own buildings that you destroyed by your own hand..."

Kaiba's eye twitched, "...I hate you..."

"I still remember Ra loving you, Kaiba..." Atem said with a playful grin before he earned himself another kick to his heel from Kaiba before the billionair left with a huff.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

A few minutes later, Yugi was walking through the courtyard silently while being completely ignored by the gardeners as he stared at the yellow rose in his hand thoughtfully and he slowly turned it in his hand silently as he continued walking with it before slowly lowering it from his view after hearing someone clear their throat before he slowed to a stop to look around for the source. His eyes met Rona, who was well hidden in the bushes a distance from where he was, and Yugi looked around once more innocently before he slowly walked over towards her to follow her deeper into the bushes before she stopped and turned towards him after she believed they were well hidden. Once she saw the yellow rose in his hand, he could sense her smile behind the bandages that hid her face as she slowly walked closer to him and she gently placed her hand around the flower part of the rose while staring at it with her single exposed eye before her golden eye met Yugi's violet ones as they glistened happily as she remained silent. Yugi felt a warm sensation develope in his stomach, although he didn't know where it came from, as her glistening eye met his while they continued to remain silent to each other, her hand still gently covering the flower part of the rose while his continued holding the stem as only a few inches seperated them from touching one another, then she slowly moved her hand down to his and her fingertips brushed lightly along his knuckles while he felt a cold sensation result from the contact, one that made him urge to shiver though he fought against doing so. Her other hand slowly reached forward to take his hand while he felt her place something into his grasp and he gently gripped whatever it was while he continued staring into her single exposed eye.

"...You'll come...won't you...?" she asked softly while gently gripping his hand that she placed the object in.

Yugi blinked and slowly looked down to see that she placed a flyer in his hand, then he turned it slightly and saw bolded letters spell out "DARK WOODS CIRCUS" while the Four Alices were depicted underneath the letters with the golden-eyed twins fused together with two heads on one body while standing on a forest path, Scarlet looking much taller than she normally does while being slightly hidden in the black forest trees, Lark tied to a chair in a straight-jacket on the other side of the path with Emerald, dressed in a light-pink dress that exposed her legs in the front only and they looked deformed while she wore some head-wear that covered the bandages on her eyes, no sleeves on her dress, and the collar of the dress being curved to expose her chest-bone and collar-bone, standing behind Lark with an innocent-looking smile while a large circus tent stood at the end of the path with it's door flaps wide open to expose the inner darkness while Shira stood beside the open flaps dressed in a white button-up top with a black button-up open jacket, a crimson bow-tie, the jacket flaps going down to the back of her knees, black panty-hose, black high-heels, a black skirt made of black-lace material that barely went down mid-thigh, her black hair up in an up-do hidden by a black top-hat, white gloves on her hands, and a black pod-looking object in her arms. He blinked once more before looking up at Rona and opened his mouth to reply before she slowly leaned up and pressed her bandaged lips against his cheek lightly before slowly pulling back to move back from him slowly, then she slowly vanished in a shower of yellow rose petals that slowly vanished as she did. Yugi looked back down at the flyer as he slowly turned to walk out of the bushes while he examined it abit longer and he slowly lowered the flyer once hearing someone approach only to see Atem walking towards him with his hands in his pockets. Atem's eyes met the flyer briefly before they met Yugi's eyes once more, then Yugi silently handed it out to him with a glance at the flyer as well and Atem gently took it into his hand to examine it before letting out a soft sigh. Yugi knew what it meant.

"...Another performance...?" Atem asked softly.

"Yeah...I'd feel bad if we didn't go..." Yugi replied.

"Why? You don't even know them." Atem said as he lifted his eyes to Yugi once more.

"I know...just...I feel like she doesn't have anyone else besides her brother or the others...no other friends, I mean." Yugi replied.

"Still doesn't give you any reason to care, Yugi. You barely know them and it sounds like she's pursuing you for a reason you don't know..." Atem said with his eyes slightly narrowed in concern.

"...I know..." Yugi replied.

"Yugi, I don't want you getting involved in all of this. I'll go with you if you want to...but, I'm telling you, something fishy is in the air and if we don't know much by now, usually something bad happens and it just goes down-hill from there." Atem said seriously.

"...I know..." Yugi replied.

Atem stared at Yugi silently for a few moments before letting out another sigh and he held out the flyer as the soul brothers began walking through the courtyard together while Yugi gently took it back into his hand, then Atem silently put his hands back into his pockets while Yugi stuffed the flyer carefully into his own as they walked side-by-side together around the fountain and through the garden. Atem silently slowed to a stop hearing Carina singing in Latin while his eyes slowly turned in the direction of her voice before they met Yugi's curiously and the brothers silently followed the sound of her voice to where she was using a cloth to polish the shine back into her metallic guns that were previously hidden in their holisters as she sang in Latin while sat upon a stone bench, which Yugi only understood from his Grandpa teaching him Latin right around the time he was currently learning Egyptian and he could remember Grandpa telling him that Latin wasn't as complicated since the Romans actually had a system, whereas the Egyptian's system for their language was lost somewhat. The males could see someone's name writtin in perfect cursive on both handles of each gun and occasionally they saw Carina stop in her polishing to stare at the name as if it was the name of someone dear to her before she went on polishing each gun until it sparkled in the sunlight and she then lowered the cloth while she continued to sing. Yugi only had a rough idea what she was singing, but she kept singing it over and over again with a gentleness in her tone, though the words in the song were meant with pride, and the look in her eyes told him that it meant something as dear to her as the names inscribed on her guns. He continued to listen as she continued to sing.

"Bound sanguine, alligata sacris lunae. Lorem fratres pariter ut fur in nocte ut dentes cultrum. Tuere sicut alius frater, hoc est code. Et super humerum stamus code-to-capitatis humerum sublimis. Confligito e nobis in tenebras ululare per noctem." Carina sang gently as she carefully placed her guns back in their holisters.

"Bound by blood, bound by the sacred moon. We are brothers and sisters alike, with fur like night and fangs like knives. Protect thy brother like any other, that is our code. And by the code we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with heads held high. Come fight us as we howl into the darkened night." Yugi quietly translated while Atem looked over at him as he spoke.

"...So...you know Latin, boy...?" Carina asked as she looked over to where the two look-alikes were hiding in the bushes.

Yugi tensed and didn't say anything for a short while before he reluctantly left the bushes with Atem following close behind, "...Uh...m-my grandpa taught me a little..."

Carina smiled, a look in her eyes making Yugi slowly relax, "I'm glad to see I am not the only one. It seems Latin might as well be a dead language, for not many can speak it clearly or can't even get started with it. Do you speak any, Atem?"

"I can only speak Egyptian or Arabic...Arabic orginally decended from the ancient language of my home country, which is curently considered a dead language, I suppose." Atem replied casually.

"Ti gínetai me ti̱n elli̱nikí̱ ?[What about Greek?]" Carina asked in a strong Greek accent.

"Eínai sti̱ mní̱mi̱ mou...[It's in my memory...]" Atem replied in an equally strong accent.

"I didn't know you could speak Greek." Yugi said as he raised an eyebrow at Atem, again he believed he couldn't pull it off as well as Atem as Atem returned the same gesture.

"My family knows many languages from around the world, living and dead. Though, we tend to keep it to ourselves. It's nice to know someone else is as cultural as my family is." Carina said with a faint chuckle.

"Speaking of your family, where are you from? I take it your not from around here if you said you came here to wait for your pack alpha." Yugi asked as he turned his head to look at her.

"I come from America, though my parents originated from Russia, though they spoke perfect English. My uncle Nathan even came along for the boat ride to the Americas where we all lived in a large cottage in a desert area in Arizona near a small town with not that many citizens. We were isolated from others, my siblings and I. My father, Diamond Ambrosia, was a natural-born gunslinger Werewolf and was a former Alpha himself before meeting and marrying my mother, Alicia Ambrosia, to spend the rest of his life with her and have children. My uncle, Nathan(Desperado) Ambrosia, used to be one of his pack brothers while also sharing blood. My older brother, Travis Ambrosia, taught me how to shoot, aim, and use any gun to my advantage when I was young and how to ride horseback with no saddle and reins and my older sister, Cameron, taught me what there was to know about magic in the Werewolf society. When I was fifteen...my father was shot to death with silver bullets by Werewolf Hunters who made a living out of taking out big-shot Werewolves from well-known families and my father was a big-shot Werewolf back in the day before my mother came into the picture and he went into hiding when she was with child, with Travis, the first born." Carina replied.

"...If it makes you feel any better, I witnessed my father dying of an illness when I was young." Atem said softly.

Carina smiled, though her eyes still showed pain in the mentioning of her father, "...Empathy doesn't heal wounds, though. It closes them, but it doesn't relieve the person of the scars."

Yugi slowly walked closer and sat on the stone bench across from her while Atem stood beside him with his arms crossed, "So...when did you get involved with your pack alpha?"

"I met Abraham(Ace) Bernard when I was eighteen and a year later I stopped aging once I was initiated into the pack. My siblings soon followed and they not only were my siblings, but they became my pack brother and sister as well that day." Carina replied.

"Must be hard being a Werewolf in a place like Domino City...especially with these Alices running around now." Atem said softly.

Carina slowly smiled once more and bared some of her pearly white canines, "...Honey, you have no idea..."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Emerald carefully slid her hand gently along the outer protective layer of the black pod-like object in her lap while she stared down at it with blinded eyes as she sat fully-dressed in her throne while Scarlet stood at her right while Lark stood at her left and the twins silently stood in front of Shira as she stood a distance from the throne with their hands in hers. There was an un-easy silence between them all as Emerald continued to stroke the pod-like object in her lap and the others continued to stare at the floor while they remained silent until their eyes silently met the lifeless ones of the slain horse that lay in the center of the throne room with it's abdomen emptied and exposed as a black hole with it's eyes still open and mouth agape. Lark looked down at Emerald as she continued to tremble uneasily in her throne while she shakily continued her stroking of the black pod-like object that continued to pulse crimson with life and Scarlet slowly looked down at her before silently bending over to whisper soothingly while she gently stroked Emerald's hand sisterly, though it barely helped. Rona and Ronald were both staring blankly at the corpse of the large animal while Rona stroked the back of a silent white rabbit with bright green eyes as it remained perfectly calm in her arms and Shira gently gripped their hands to keep herself calm while she tried not to stare at the lifeless eyes that refused to close. It had started out as a normal morning for all of them until they witnessed the animal gallop into the throne room of the mansion in a crazed state before it collapsed to the floor with an echoing cry and blood spewed out of it's abdomen and onto the floor.

"...Emerald...we can get you a new horse...it's easy to replace..." Scarlet said softly.

"You can't replace Joesphine! Sh-She was MY horse!" Emerald whimpered while turning her head away from Scarlet as she refrained from shedding anymore tears.

"I guess the shows off then..." Lark said softly.

Rona looked at the floor silently with dissappointment before she blinked and looked at the corpse as it slowly began to shift on it's own while nickering darkly, then the horse's eyes turned a dark violet while it stomped it's hoof on the ground and a shadowy cloud began to form out of it's open abdomen as the Alices watched with slightly widened eyes while Shira fearfully pulled the twins with her as she backed away as soon as the horse's eyes were suddenly on her. Joesphine threw her head back with a loud, dark whinny as she threw back on her hind hooves and the shadowy cloud quickly seeped out of the hole in her abdomen only to consume the horse's body quickly before it then desipated and the body of a woman in a black cloak was revieled while a hood hid her face from the Alices and Shira as she stood in the pool of Josephine's blood with a dark smile on her crimson-painted lips. Emerald slowly stood from her throne sensing this and silently took a few steps forward while cradling the black pod in her arms motherly while Scarlet and Lark were close behind her with slight glares at the woman at her intrusion into their mansion. The woman slowly lifted her pale hands and drew back the hood of her cloak with the long, pearly-white claws on her fingers to show her white shoulder-length hair and her moonlight pale skin that bared the blue veins in her body faintly while her eyes were black where the whites should be, her corneas being a bright yellow while her irises were a bright violet color and her pupils were crimson. The white rabbit in Rona's arms began to quickly twitch it's nose in alert to the woman's presence while quickly shifting around for escape as the woman set her multi-colored eyes on it while her smile grew larger before she looked mockingly at Emerald and she lowered into a lady-like bow with her body bending forward, her right hand going to her chest while her left arm went back, her right leg forward while her left leg went back to keep her balance, and her head slowly bowed slightly while she closed her eyes, her eyelashs looking bit longer from this position while her hair slowly showered over her shoulders.

"Your magesty..." she said in a quiet, innocent voice Emerald knew wasn't hers.

"What are you doing here, Anthea?" Emerald asked emotionlessly.

Anthea smiled as she slowly returned to her standing position while blinking her eyes slowly opened as her hands slowly went to her sides, "...I'm just here to visit...I heard something went loose in your garden and I'm here to retrieve it...~"

Emerald held the black pod closer to her chest, "Never! This is an innocent child and he is NOT going to get his hands on this unborn child!"

"...I wasn't necessarily asking your permission...your highness..." Anthea hissed with a more deeper voice mixed with her innocent one as her pupils slowly turned snake-like.

She hissed similar to a crocodile with baring her enlarged fangs and her longer, snake-like tounge while a shadowy cloud formed behind her with the spread and rise of her arms that formed the shape of a winged creature with crimson eyes that glared down at the Alices and the doll girl with pure hatred. Scarlet glared and quickly closed the fan hiding the area of her face under her nose while she skillfully unsheathed her sword while Lark closed his eyes as he took in air into his lungs to prepare an attack of his own while Anthea made a charge at Emerald, who backed away slightly at this. Scarlet stopped her in her place with her sword through Anthea's abdomen before she pushed Anthea back down the stairs leading up to the throne and she silently nodded over at Lark before he returned the nod, then he began staring intently at Anthea as his eye glowed a bright blue while Anthea forced herself to her feet while hissing angrily before she covered her ears to the sound of Lark releasing nightmarish notes from his throat that blinded her eyes with nightmares she didn't even know she possessed. Scarlet then backed up Lark's ability by forming blades of her own telekenetic energy and releasing them into Anthea's shoulders and legs and this sent Anthea to her knees on the floor with a painful, darkish hiss while the shadowed creature behind her spread it's large wings widely. Anthea then grinned darkly and began giggling insanely as the wounds in her body began to slowly close on their own and she slowly began to levitate into the air while her blood was absorbed back into her body.

"...You...you Alices...are going to see...that I...am...not...to be...treated...lightly...!" Anthea hissed in her mixed voice before snapping her eyes open at Scarlet and Lark quickly with a dark glare.

Scarlet widened her eyes as Anthea suddenly appeared in front of her with her booted foot roughly kicked into her chest over the Spade mark that was inked over Scarlet's heart before the crimson-clothed Alice fell motionlessly to the floor with her eyes opened and baring a state of paralysis. Lark widened his eyes seeing this and slowly backed up while looking at Scarlet before his eyes lifted to Anthea who was no longer where she was and he quickly moved Emerald towards the steps while telling her to leave with the black pod before he slowly turned to see Anthea standing behind him and he was given no time to react before Anthea roughly slammed her fist into the Diamond mark on the side of his neck to send Lark into the same state of paralysis that sent him to the floor beside Scarlet. She stared down at the two paralyzed Alices before quickly lifting her eyes after seeing Emerald missing an attack from the creature and she appeared behind the green Alice only to roughly slam her fist into the small of Emerald's back over the Club mark inked on Emerald's skin to make Emerald freeze in her place with a shaky, loud gasp before she collapsed on her side on the floor limply with the black pod protected in her arms. Anthea then let out a painful hiss as a shadowed hand was stabbed through her chest before she snapped her head over her shoulder to see a shadowed figure standing behind her while Rona carefully gathered the pod in her arms and she then made a dash beside her brother towards the exit with Shira following close behind while looking back worriedly at Lark. Shira was then snatched by the shadowed creature's tail and thrown roughly to the wall above the throne before Ronald was then captured under the clawed hand of the creature and Rona stopped to quickly look back at her brother while he yelled at her to keep running before he was silenced as the creature pressed into Ronald's side where the yellow Heart mark was inked on his skin and this made him go into paralysis as well.

Rona felt hot tears form in her eyes as she watched her twin's eyes go dull with paralysis before she lifted her head quickly as the creature had it's eyes on her and she quickly ran from the mansion with the black pod in her arms as her tears ran down her cheeks as her visible eye closed tightly. She slowed to a stop just outside Domino City while panting softly out of exaughstion from running through the forest along the trail and she looked back regretfully before looking down at the pod in her arms as she slowly walked into the city with her head slightly lowered. Rona walked through the city while forcing herself not to cry at the loss of her siblings and her "family" as she was stared at by many passerbys that recognised her as one of the Four Alices and she continued to walk while not saying a word and with a blank golden eye watching the sidewalk underneath her feet as her feet continued guiding her mindlessly through the city. She kept the pod close to her chest as it continued to pulse crimson with life and she gently stroked the outer coating subconsciously as she continued to walk alone through Domino while ignoring the multiple stares from passerbys. She then gently began to sing in a soft, lonely tone.

"The Fourth Alice was a duo of curiosity...Both became lost and could not where they had began And so they ran through many doors and down so many paths A Brother and a Sister whose bond would never break. A stubborn Elder Sister A witty Younger Brother They soon wandered to far into The First Alice's Wonderland...They were never woken from their terrifying dream...Forever doomed to wander through...this...twisted...fairytale..."

Rona slowed to a stop and looked up at the Kaiba mansion after realising her feet had taken her up the trail leading to the mansion that sat upon a hill looking over the city and she blinked rapidly before looking down at the pod as the crimson flash began to quicken in pace in an excited manner while she felt the child's heartbeat more clearly on the outer covering. She closed her eye and slowly walked further towards the mansion before slowly going through the gate as if it wasn't there while she held the pod closer to her in a protective manner as her feet guided her to the steps leading to the front door. She slowly held up a hand to gently knock three times on the door before returning it to the pod in her arms while her head remained lowered until the door opened and she slowly lifted her head to look up at the tall brunette billionair with a look in her eye that instantly diminished his natural irritation to visitors before his blue eyes met the black pod in her arms with a look of confusion and curiosity as to what it is. He was broken out of his trance as she sniffled faintly and he silently moved aside to let her inside before she nodded faintly in gratitude as she slowly walked inside while her eye returned to the floor before she heard Yugi's voice. Her eye quickly rose to see Yugi walking towards her with a concerned look on his face and she slowly walked over to him while instantly letting her hidden tears fall from her exposed eye, then he gently took her into his arms to let her break down into his chest as he softly questioned what was wrong while Atem frowned concernly at her from beside his soul brother.

"...Yugi...w-we're not the only Alices in this world anymore...!" Rona said between sobs as she dug her face further into his chest.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"So...what is this anyway?" Yugi asked as he examined the black pod carefully after Rona had set it in his lap.

"It's a developing infant...I think it's the Fifth Alice, but I'm not sure. The Dreamer made us in these things until we got bigger, just like normal babies do." Rona replied.

"I see...speaking of the Dreamer, did you see what happened to him before you made it out of there?" Yugi asked as he looked up at her as she continued sitting in the chair across from him in the second chair by the window of his room in the Kaiba mansion.

Rona slowly shook his head, "...He managed to keep her from getting me and Ronald and Shira until that large beast seperated the three of us, and I managed to escape with the pod...but...I...I feel so lonely..."

Yugi reached over and gently put a hand on her knee, "It's alright, Rona...you're safe here..."

"Thank you, Yugi...you're very sweet...I always thought you were even before your transformation. You just looked so lonely and now your eyes are so bright and clear." Rona said softly.

Yugi blushed faintly, "Thanks...I like your...um...eye...too..."

Rona giggled faintly and gently put her hand over his that was still over her knee, "Pretty soon, I can see out of both eyes..."

"...When you told me earlier that someone other than the Alices has to show you that they care...what did you mean...?" Yugi asked softly.

"The Dreamer thought it would be impossible for anyone to fall in love with us...so, he bandaged what he believed would be connected to our endings and made the condition that if we ever fell in love, the bandages would fall off...by themselves." Rona replied.

"...I see..." Yugi replied softly.

"...Yugi...your hand..." Rona said softly.

Yugi blinked and looked down to see that his fingers were under the skirt of her dress before he quickly pulled his hand away while blushing heavily as Rona giggled softly at this and she reached over to take his hand only to put it back on her thigh gently while rubbing the outside with her hand. He blinked slowly at this before his eyes met her golden one that stared back into violet eyes while he felt his hand gently grip her thigh without causing any discomfort and he felt his heart begin to pick up pace in his chest while he also questioned heavily on where this was coming from, but he also felt like it was natural for him to feel this way, even if he barely knew her other than today when she explained her life story earlier. So what if she herself was a dream come to life made by the Dreamer? Everything else about her was real. This feeling in his chest, he felt, was normal, but for a reason he couldn't explain.

He barely knew her, Yugi knew, but the feeling in his chest wouldn't go away and he felt as if there was a string between them that was tightening when they were close and loosening when they were apart and he felt a dangerous curiosity towards this strange feeling that was currently spreading from his chest to his entire body. Rona slowly leaned over and pressed her bandaged lips against his cheek gently without saying a word and this brought Yugi out of his thoughts while she slowly pulled back to look at him once again, then they both looked over after hearing the door slowly open and Rona returned to her seat while Yugi placed his hand back over the pod in his lap. Atem slowly walked into the room and walked over to Yugi's side silently while he looked down at the black pod that pulsed crimson with life as Yugi kept a gentle hand on it to keep it still in his lap. The ex-Pharaoh hadn't said a word since Rona had told every detail of her story to everyone in the house and Yugi knew Atem's main concern was the identity of the fifth Alice and the black pod that remained motionless in Yugi's lap. The three remained silent as Atem remained at Yugi's side while Rona sat in her chair a distance from Yugi while staring out the window.

"...Where exactly do we start looking for this Sixth Alice...?" Atem asked softly.

"I'm not sure...only the Dreamer would know that and he's either dead or locked away somewhere by that beast..." Rona replied while looking up at the ex-Pharaoh.

Atem sighed slowly and softly before walking over and slowly sitting on the bed, "Well...that figures..."

Yugi nodded silently before looking down at the black pod in his lap only to see the flash of crimson that revieled the infant had moved closer to Yugi's hand that remained resting over it's protective layer and Yugi could see abit clearer that the infant looked just like a normal infant in developement with no defects. If this was the Fifth Alice, Yugi thought, it's defect will probably show when it gets out of the pod or maybe a little later, but Yugi remembered that it takes nine days for these pods to get too small for the developing Alice inside and it eventually needs to be released into fresh, pure soil so it may continue it's developement in the protective embrace of a flower the color of it's future world that the Dreamer will have them create. Why would the Dreamer make a Sixth Alice when the Fifth Alice had a chance at screwing up like the other Four Alices in creating their own worlds? He was hesitant to ask since Rona had just gotten out of her gloominess enough to smile and he was sure that she probably didn't have the answer either since she'd told him that the Dreamer himself was a mystery upon mysteries, consisting of many personalities and unpredictable attributes. So, if this wasn't a Fifth Alice currently in Yugi's lap, what was it?

"I really appreciate Kaiba letting me stay here until I can figure out what's going on. He warned us about him and his servant, but he never said anything about a beast or how powerful Agathe had gotten since we ran into her before we were transfered here...at the time, she was the Dreamer's right hand. Now, she's...completely different...she used to be pretty..." Rona said softly.

"That's what happens with insanity...it turns people into what they truely are on the inside...sometimes it's nothing pretty on the inside that awaits them..." Atem replied.

"Yeah...I just hope that this fifth Alice doesn't hurt anyone else. That's the last thing any of us want." Yugi added.

"She said that she wanted the pod...but she didn't say anything about a Sixth Alice...so, either the Fifth Alice doesn't think we know...or maybe it's not an Alice at all. Maybe it's a back-up plan. The Dreamer always has one of those." Rona said softly.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see..." Yugi said softly as he stroked the outside of the pod slowly and carefully.

Mokuba slowly walked in and stopped a distance from the entrance, "Atem. My brother wants to see you in his lab. He says it's urgent."

"I'll be right there." Atem replied as he slowly stood and walked over to follow Mokuba out of the room and down the hall towards the staircase.

"...Weird way to make up a back-up plan..." Yugi muttered as he touched his finger over one of the developing infant's hands.

"The Dreamer himself is weird...trust me, you'll see...he can be very unpredictable sometimes. It scares Emerald out of her dress, but she's too focused on Lark to care about what the Dreamer feels. He tries ignoring her, and he pretends like me and Ronald don't know it's just him in a rabbit disguise, but something about her just pulls him in and we know better...he always said that if he could change his eye-color, he'd make his eyes green." Rona said softly.

"Huh..." Yugi said while looking at her.

Rona smiled slightly, "Mmhm..."

Meanwhile, Atem slowly decended the stairs and walked over beside Kaiba, who was standing in front of the glass dome while the creature inside was pacing back and forth in a bored manner as he hissed and growled, "You wanted to see me, Kaiba?"

"I've run into dilema with our boney friend here. He only speaks Ancient Egyptian and I've been asking the same questions only to get the same responses...and my Egyptian isn't as clear as yours, so would you mind? I'd like to know if he was created by the darkness or by something else." Kaiba replied, not looking up from the notes he is currently taking on a notebook.

Atem blinked at him, then looked forward to see that the creature was staring at him with his side turned towards the glass while his eyes seemed to show he was listening clearly, "Uh...alright..."

He cleared his throat softly before getting abit closer and speaking in ancient Egyptian softly, "Do you have a name?"

The creature twitched it's ears and let out a huff from it's nostrils before replying with an equally accented, "Yes...my name is Hikmat...and to answer your companion's question, no...I wasn't created by Yugi's darkness. I was created by someone who only named himself to me as the Fifth Alice, whatever that means..."


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter Nineteen

Atem silently entered the room he and Yugi were sharing moments after Hikmat was fed and began to rest while rubbing his aching forehead before he slowly lowered his hand from his head to see Yugi sitting on the bed with the black pod in his lap and the ex-Pharaoh silently walked over to sit down beside his ex-hikari as the pod remained immobile in Yugi's lap. Yugi smiled over at Atem at his presence, but his smile slowly faded seeing the expression shown in the ex-Pharaoh's eyes and he brotherly put a hand on Atem's arm in concern while questioning Atem's sudden exaughstion and despair. As Atem began to explain the conversation he had with Hikmat through the glass of the dome and even on the inside of the dome, Yugi's concern slowly shifted into both disbelief and slight shock as Atem added the vision he had had during the forehead contact with Yugi before the transformation and Yugi slowly gathered the pod against his chest in a hugging manner while his eyes stared past it at the ground as Atem continued with where they needed to go for more information. Yugi looked over at Atem after a long while of silence had settled between the soul brothers while the smaller male continued to hold the pod against him as it pulsed crimson with life and the two males held a long, silent eye contact while no words needed to be said as messages were exchanged through their eyes to one another, then Yugi slowly released and gently placed the pod aside before the two soul brothers embraced one another gently and in a brotherly manner. Little Ann watched from her place beside the window as the two males held the embrace for a few moments as Yugi's head laid sideways against Atem's shoulder with his face facing the light seeping in through the glass of the window while Atem's chin rested on Yugi's shoulder with his eyes staring at the wall behind the headboard.

"...So...where's Rona?" Atem asked softly.

"She's downstairs with Carina in the living room...Atem, I thought we..." Yugi replied faintly.

"I know, Yugi..." Atem said softly while rubbing Yugi's back slowly and comfortly.

"All those years...all those adventures...and we still didn't even get all of your memories...it feels like it was for nothing..." Yugi continued as he slowly buried his face into Atem's shoulder to stop his tears of failure.

"Hey, hey...none of that, now. At least I have some of my memories...that's all that matters. I have some of my memories, maybe not all of them, but some...that's all we should care about." Atem said softly.

"But, that means I didn't fulfill my duty to you...I promised I would help you get all of your memories back...not some...!" Yugi said shakily into Atem's shoulder as his tears began to escape against his will.

Atem frowned slightly and gently rubbed Yugi's back again slowly and comfortly, "Yugi, look at me..."

Yugi sniffled softly as he slowly looked up at the ex-Pharaoh and Atem gently wiped away Yugi's tears with his thumbs.

"Yugi, you didn't fail me as a hikari...you promised me you would help me get my memories back, but you didn't necessarily say that we would get all of them back. You were my closest friend and you still are and I will never allow you to think that everything you've done for me was for nothing...without you, I would've remained blind to my own identity and I would've remained just as cold inside as I'd become after I played the evil Orichalcos card..." Atem said softly, though his tone was filled with an emotion that Yugi couldn't explain.

Yugi blinked at him slowly, then smiled slightly, "Thanks, Atem..."

"I'm just telling you the truth, Yugi..." Atem replied while returning the smile.

The soul brothers once again embraced one another tightly while gently taking a hold of the back of each other's shirts and Yugi sighed softly as his stress was slowly relieved as Atem slowly began to run his fingers brotherly through Yugi's hair while his head rested gently and sideways against Atem's chest. Yugi could remember clearly a time when he had gotten sick with the fever and Atem had taken time out of pondering his own existence to try and relieve the stress Yugi was under during the time Yugi had slipped accidentally into the Millenium Puzzle, and Atem had held Yugi similarlly like this until Yugi fell asleep and Yugi felt a sort of comfort that he'd never felt before sweep over him at the sound of Atem's gentle, slow heartbeat. The sound still filled Yugi with the same comfort feeling as it did before and Yugi now felt a strange warmth sweep over him that relaxed every muscle in his body while his mind was also filled with a relaxing sensation as well. Atem slowly turned his head to stare at the black pod silently while it still continued it's lively crimson pulsing and he then silently looked back down at Yugi as the smaller male turned his head slowly against the ex-Pharaoh's chest to stare silently at the pod as well with the same blank stare before Atem slowly returned his eyes back to the pod with it's organic shell still pulsing like a human heartbeat. The shadowed outline of the fetus inside looked like it had grown slightly and the brothers slowly met eyes.

"I'm abit hesitant about finding out what's inside that thing..." Yugi said softly.

"Same here..." Atem replied just as softly.

They were interupted by the sound of the door slowly opening and the males slowly turned their heads to see Rona slowly enter the room with Carina following close behind, then Rona slowly sat down beside Yugi as Ann slowly walked up to greet her with a gentle nose nudge to the golden-eyed girl's knee while Carina stood near the window as she crossed her arms casually and Rona gently scratched the top of Ann's head silently while Yugi slowly turned out of Atem's arms to sit the same way Rona was as Atem slowly did the same. Carina questioned the slight silence between the two soul brothers since the two seemed close enough to rarely ever have any periods of silence and the two males met eyes before Atem softly repeated the telling of the conversation he had with Hikmat through the glass of the dome. Rona put a hand slowly over her mouth silently at the mention of Yami Heba's mother, then she slowly looked over at Atem at the mentioning of the "price" and she blinked her single exposed eye before slowly looking forward as Atem neared the end of the conversation. Carina sighed softly before she darted her head towards the door hearing the sound of a low, bellowing howl that was only loud enough to reach her ears along with the ears of the others in the room and she rushed out of the room and down the stairs to hurriedly open the front door while Rona gently gathered the pod into her arms like a newborn infant before she slowly followed the two males walkingly down the hall and down the stairs to see who was the source of the sound. By the time the three were on the porch, Carina had her arms happily around the neck of a 6' 1" tall male with slightly tanned skin, hard mature facial features, a highly muscular form that was hard to hide even through his dark brown leather trench coat that hid most of his arm muscles that bore easily through his white button-up collared shirt that he wore underneath, dark blue jeans, a pair of dark brown boots on his feet, a black leather belt around his waist with a silver belt buckle depicting the image of a howling wolf, a faint stubble around his jaw and chin area, light blue eyes, light gray hair underneath a tan cowboy hate he wore on his head that hid his eyes and only showed his fatherly smile as he gently swung Carina around, making her giggle happily as she clung to him just as gently.

"Ah, Carina...I'm so glad they didn't get you..." the man said with a rough, though warm voice.

"Me too...I thank the Lord that you're safe." Carina replied softly into the man's shoulder before she slowly broke away to quickly move over to a 6' tall woman with brown, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, a slender bodily figure with a thin bodily appearance, matured facial features, a black leather jacket over a black tank top, black leather pants, and black leather boots, to give that woman one kiss to each pale cheek before she embraced the woman tightly as the woman returned it whole heartedly.

The man slowly looked over just as the Kaiba brothers moved onto the porch on either side of the spikey haired males and he bumped up his hat slightly with his right fore-finger knuckle, "I take it the tallest out of all of ya is Seto..."

Rona shuffled over to the side slightly so Kaiba could slowly walk forward and down the stairs towards the man with a slight nod in response, "I'm Seto Kaiba, yes."

"Thanks for taking care of my pack daughter...it's nice that a few humans still got some kind of kindness in 'em...the name's Abraham. Abraham Bernard. The pack calls me 'Ace'." the man replied.

"I can relate slightly after she told me that her family was all she had...my brother is all I have as well. Our parents abandoned us at a young age and I've grown close to my sibling and he's grown to look up to everything I've ever done." Kaiba said, nodding back towards Mokuba, who put his hands fromally behind his back and straightened his posture abit more.

"I had a brother myself...a sister too. My mother left all three of us with my father, a pack alpha himself, and the old timer kicked the bucket after he got sick with some kind of disease that couldn't be cured nor treated and my brother wasn't even close to adolecent years and my sister was a teenager, I was a young adult. My sister ran off with some rebel Werewolf and my brother ran off on his own as soon as he passed 13...I was left by my lonesome." Abraham said softly.

"Sorry to hear that...looks like you're making good of yourself if you've got so many in the pack." Kaiba said.

Abraham looked over his shoulder at the black hummer where two 5' 9" tall men, one with shoulder length black hair, pale skin, mature facial features, a white skin-tight shirt that bore his muscles clearly, black jeans, black boots, and bright blue eyes, and the other male having dark brown hair, slightly tanned skin, brown eyes, black tank underneath a black leather jacket, black leather pants with a black leather belt around his waist with a silver belt buckle, black motorycle boots, and matured facial features, waited while leaning on the side of the vehicle casually, the brown-haired male having his hands in his pockets and the black-haired male having his arms casually crossed. The brown-haired male, Bentley Thompson, was the first Carina rushed over to hug around his neck and he smiled brotherly while putting his arms around her protectively while the black-haired male, Jackson Harris, slowly removed himself from the side of the vehicle to recieve his own embrace from Carina and he gently put his arms around her while rocking her back and forth slightly in a brotherly manner. Abraham looked forward at Kaiba to explain that Jackson had been the first Werewolf that he'd partnered with and Bentley soon followed, then Dakota Morrison, the tan-skinned, black short-cut haired, mature facial featured, green eyed, 5' 9" tall, muscular man sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle who didn't emerge until Carina tapped on the window and she could see that he was wearing a black leather tank underneath a black zip-up hooded jacket, black jeans, and black sneakers as she hugged him around his neck gently. After Dakota, Abraham continued, came Cameron Ambrosia, the woman Carina had embraced after Ace, and Travis Ambrosia, the oldest out of the three Ambrosia siblings, Cameron being the middle child, along with Carina, the youngest. Travis, Kaiba assumed, was the 6' tall male with slightly tanned skin, a white t-shirt underneath a black leather vest with no sleeves, dark blue jeans and dark brown leather belt with a silver belt buckle, dark brown leather boots, and was currently jumping down from the roof of the hummer to capture his sister in a playful lift into the air while twirling her around before he held her close to him in a bear hug while she giggled the whole time happily while hugging around his neck.

"Well...I'll see ya around, . You keep being good to your brother." Abraham said softly.

"You keep being good to your pack. Tell Carina she can come back here if she needs another place to stay for awhile." Kaiba replied.

"Sure do appreciate it, ." Abraham said while holding out his hand.

Kaiba took it into his own and shook it gently, Abraham's hand feeling like rough leather, then the two men released each others hands before Abraham tipped his hat down slightly at the business man and Abraham slowly turned around to walk towards his pack siblings by the hummer while Kaiba turned and walked back onto the porch. Yugi slowly turned around with Atem to walk back into the house while Rona followed close behind them and Kaiba stood beside Mokuba while the two Kaiba brothers stared at one another silently before they both looked forward seeing Carina rushing back over towards the porch and Kaiba widened his eyes slightly as Carina hugged him around his neck while he fought to keep his balance before he gently put his arms around her mid-back in a hesitant manner. Carina gently kissed his cheek while quietly thanking him before she slowly released him to rush back over to the vehicle and she got into the back with her siblings while Bentley got into the very back and the vehicle slowly drove off while Kaiba lightly touched the cheek she had kissed, then he slowly turned around and silently walked into the house with Mokuba following close behind. Inside the entry hall was Yugi, Atem, and Rona, Yugi and Atem looking at each other while whispering about what they should bring to Egypt while Rona stood beside Yugi while stroking the pod in her arms as she looked at the Kaiba brothers silently and Kaiba nodded at her reassuringly as the spiked-haired look-alikes slowly ended their conversation to look over at the Kaiba brothers as well silently. All four individuals were equally thinking of the same thing.

"Well...now, I suppose I should start booking our flights. Mokuba, you and everyone else start packing your things. I'll let everyone know when I find a flight leaving to the closest time available." Kaiba said softly.

Yugi and Atem silently nodded before Yugi looked over at Rona only to gently put an arm around her after seeing the saddened look in her golden eye and she slowly looked over at him feeling his arm around her, then her golden eye slowly brightened after seeing his slight smile and she slowly walked alongside him as he walked with Atem towards the stairs with Little Ann waiting for them at the very top. Mokuba silently followed behind them at a distance while Kaiba remained in the entry hall for a few more moments as he touched the cheek Carina had lain a kiss to while he stared at the floor silently and he silently walked into the living room while still holding that cheek even as he silently sat down on his couch in front of the coffee table where his laptop lay. He slowly removed his hand from his cheek to open up the contraption and he silently typed on the keyboard almost blindly to bring up the Domino Airport website before he then began to look through the times and places of each flight and he blinked slowly seeing a flight to Cairo, Egypt going tomorrow early in the morning, then he silently bookmarked the page and slowly leaned back against the couch with a faint sigh. Meanwhile, Mokuba was arranging with the driver and an assistant to bring some of Yugi's clothing over to the mansion while Yugi was sitting on the bed in the room that he shared with Atem in the Kaiba mansion while Atem was down in the lab while watching Hikmat silently pace back and forth in the glass dome he was being kept in while Rona sat with Yugi on the bed while holding the pod in her arms protectively. Hikmat was singing to himself a lullaby in Egyptian that Atem had heard only once or twice from Mana, who only sang it whenever Mohad wasn't around to hear because he disapproved of it strongly for a reason he never said and a reason Atem didn't dare ask.

"Dear child of mine, with eyes so clear Please don't whine, nor shed a tear Your dear mother is here with you Your smile blends in with the morning hue

Your father is away at war, oh child of mine Your smile fills his heart with adrenaline Each time you smile, he feels it in spirit Your smile sends his heart to beat like the drums"

Atem knew the lullaby was about a mother and a father with a child, the father at war while the mother is at home, but he had no idea why it upsetted Mohad so much that Mana sing such a lullaby that she'd probably heard from the slaves or from the children in the city since she'd sneak out a few times until Mohad officially became a priest and he looked over silently at Hikmat after hearing the song end only to see the creature staring blankly at the canine food piled into a glass bowl with water in a seperate bowl sitting beside it. The ex-Pharaoh felt a slight atmosphere of an identity crisis or saddness around Hikmat in terms of his purpose and Atem couldn't deny that he could relate, he was just unsure as to if Hikmat was really depressed over it now that he was freed from Yugi and he'd said things he was ordered not to say and now there was a slight chance that Yami Heba might come after him for blood. Hikmat silently began to eat the dry dog food after lowering his head while Atem continued to watch him and Atem made a slight face at how he could perfectly see every muscle and bone shifting around in the motion of just the lifting and lowering of Hikmat's jaw bone, the food traveling down his thin throat, which Atem tried to avoid looking at because of the faint outline of the food that showed, and through the esophogus before settling in Hikmat's stomach, which Atem could see slightly expand to make room. Hikmat then moved to the water as Atem continued to watch him and Atem raised an eyebrow slightly after seeing that Hikmat's long, snake-like tounge was colored a venomous green with a dim blend of purple and his thin throat expanded to allow the flow of water to run through smoothly before slowly moving back into normal formation as Hikmat rose his head slowly from the bowl while slowly moving to the center of the dome to slowly lay down with his body laying on it's side. Atem quickly looked forward after Hikmat noticed he was staring and he looked over from the corner of his eye after hearing Hikmat's dry chuckling.

"You're not the first one to stare...I know what I look like, my Pharaoh." Hikmat said softly.

"I got curious is all...I'm still pondering on how you can survive being so thin and with your bones nearly exposed." Atem replied.

Hikmat slowly looked at his sides, then looked back over at Atem, "Actually...," he slowly shuffled to his feet and slowly made his way over to the glass, "that's another thing I need to mention, my Pharaoh. Please don't take any pity on me..."

Atem blinked and slowly stood up to walk over in front of Hikmat, "What is it, Hikmat?"

"I was created for the sole purpose of feeding off another and using their depression and despair as an energy source...I can live off of food in this world, but the negative energy of others is what gives me my full strength. Pretty soon, if my master doesn't come for me...I'll waste away into ashes. Abit of a cruel twist of fate, but that's life...and I'm not necessarily made to live in this world where no other creature but me needs to feed off of others for strength." Hikmat replied softly.

Atem frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Hikmat shook his head slowly in protest, "No need to waste any words of sympathy towards me, my Pharaoh. I'm ready for however I am going to end...wether by my master's cold hand or by a slow, sleeping death..."

"Hikmat..." Atem said softly as he lowered into a kneel, Hikmat being only 5' 7" in standing height.

Hikmat once again shook his head as he slowly sat onto the floor, "Please, my Pharaoh...don't...I don't deserve it. Not after what I did to your friend. Like I said, I am ready for my end...I can only pray that my master forgets to come for me and I can die in a sleeping peace. That's the way I would rather go..."

Atem blinked slowly, then sighed softly, "I forgive you...and Yugi couldn't hate a living creature to save his life...no matter what they've done to him...he couldn't bring himself to hate me after I betrayed him so badly..."

"I can die happily...knowing that I am forgiven and I've told you everything that you needed to know about my employer..." Hikmat said softly, putting a boney paw against the glass of the dome.

Atem gently put his hand against the glass over where Hikmat's boney paw was, his hand almost perfectly fitting in his paw, and Atem felt the sting of Hikmat's depression shoot through his nerves like a sting of despairing electricity while he closed his eyes at the feeling, then he slowly re-opened his eyes just as Hikmat was slowly removing his paw from the glass and he slowly met Hikmat's bright crimson eyes that stared back at him concernly as Atem slowly removed his hand from the glass. Hikmat then silently stood from his place only to bow his head in respect until his nostrils barely touched the ground before he slowly rose his head once again to see Atem bow his own head back slightly and Hikmat's ears slowly moved forward before he slowly walked away from the glass to the center of the dome while Atem slowly stood from his kneeling position as he watched Hikmat shuffle into a laying position on the floor in the center of the dome. The ex-Pharaoh blinked slowly as he watched Hikmat lay his boney head down upon his folded paws and he let out a slow, soft sigh without noticing Kaiba slowly move over to his side until he looked over and up at the taller male as Kaiba looked forward at Hikmat through the glass of the dome before he met eyes with Atem only to frown in concern after noticing the dulled color in Atem's eyes, but the ex-Pharaoh silently shook his head to refrain Kaiba from questioning the color change prior to walking away from the taller male without a word being said. Kaiba blinked at Atem's sudden behavior and looked at Hikmat before looking at Atem's back silently, then he slowly walked after the ex-Pharaoh as Atem walked up the stairs out of the lab. The billionair followed Atem all the way into the living room only to see the ex-Pharaoh sit down on the couch with a faint sigh and Kaiba slowly sat down beside Atem silently while looking concernly at the Pharaoh as Atem's dulled eyes stared blankly at the floor.

"Atem...what's wrong?" Kaiba asked softly.

"...Hikmat's going to die, Kaiba..." Atem replied almost faintly.

"That surprises you? He already said he told us things that he shouldn't have...I don't see why you're so bent out of shape anyway..." Kaiba said softly.

Atem slightly glared at him, "Kaiba, he said he never did what he was supposed to do to Yugi...he said that the one thing he wanted was forgiveness and now the only thing on his mind is his end...!"

"You need to stop worrying about every little thing! So what if Hikmat's going to kick the bucket? What does it mean to you?" Kaiba replied firmly.

"You don't get it...I could feel it when he sent his pain through me like electricity...he feels as if he has no other purpose in life other than being a parasite to others and he's severely depressed. There has to be a way that we can-"

Atem was silenced by a harsh slap to his face by Kaiba's hand that sent him to the floor with a loud grunt and Atem shakily pushed himself after recovering from shock a few minutes later, then he looked over his shoulder at Kaiba who was looking down at him with familiur icy eyes and Atem looked back down at the floor slowly before pushing himself onto his feet as he placed a hand to his stinging cheek. Kaiba slowly stood only to turn Atem towards him while the ex-Pharaoh tensed slightly from feeling Kaiba's hands on his shoulders in the process and he looked up into Kaiba's eyes while he still held his burning cheek. The taller male slowly removed Atem's hand from the cheek he'd lain his hand on and Atem blinked slowly as he watched the color in Kaiba's eyes dull themselves in response to his sudden action, then Atem tensed slightly and widened his eyes as Kaiba, without a warning, wrapped his arms family-like around him tightly while whispering an apology in Egyptian. Atem blinked slowly in response to Kaiba's behavior before he looked at Kaiba's head through the corner of his eye and he blinked again slowly as he slowly slipped his arms free from against Kaiba's chest to wrap them around the taller male in a family-like manner while he closed his eyes slowly as the sting in his cheek slowly faded. Atem quietly questioned Kaiba's sudden action after a few moments into the embrace and Kaiba let out a slow, almost quiet sigh if it hadn't passed right by Atem's ear.

"...Carina's kiss...brought up Kisara...and...everything else just flooded past by...seeing you depressed over someone like Hikmat made it worse..." Kaiba replied softly.

Atem opened his eyes slightly, his chin resting slightly on Kaiba's shoulder, "...Hikmat's nothing like Bakura...if you'd seen what I saw in his eyes, you'd know what I'm talking about..."

"...I'll take your word for it..." Kaiba replied softly as he tightened his hold on his past cousin slightly. 


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Atem silently entered the room he and Yugi were sharing moments after Hikmat was fed and began to rest while rubbing his aching forehead before he slowly lowered his hand from his head to see Yugi sitting on the bed with the black pod in his lap and the ex-Pharaoh silently walked over to sit down beside his ex-hikari as the pod remained immobile in Yugi's lap. Yugi smiled over at Atem at his presence, but his smile slowly faded seeing the expression shown in the ex-Pharaoh's eyes and he brotherly put a hand on Atem's arm in concern while questioning Atem's sudden exaughstion and despair. As Atem began to explain the conversation he had with Hikmat through the glass of the dome and even on the inside of the dome, Yugi's concern slowly shifted into both disbelief and slight shock as Atem added the vision he had had during the forehead contact with Yugi before the transformation and Yugi slowly gathered the pod against his chest in a hugging manner while his eyes stared past it at the ground as Atem continued with where they needed to go for more information. Yugi looked over at Atem after a long while of silence had settled between the soul brothers while the smaller male continued to hold the pod against him as it pulsed crimson with life and the two males held a long, silent eye contact while no words needed to be said as messages were exchanged through their eyes to one another, then Yugi slowly released and gently placed the pod aside before the two soul brothers embraced one another gently and in a brotherly manner. Little Ann watched from her place beside the window as the two males held the embrace for a few moments as Yugi's head laid sideways against Atem's shoulder with his face facing the light seeping in through the glass of the window while Atem's chin rested on Yugi's shoulder with his eyes staring at the wall behind the headboard.

"...So...where's Rona?" Atem asked softly.

"She's downstairs with Carina in the living room...Atem, I thought we..." Yugi replied faintly.

"I know, Yugi..." Atem said softly while rubbing Yugi's back slowly and comfortly.

"All those years...all those adventures...and we still didn't even get all of your memories...it feels like it was for nothing..." Yugi continued as he slowly buried his face into Atem's shoulder to stop his tears of failure.

"Hey, hey...none of that, now. At least I have some of my memories...that's all that matters. I have some of my memories, maybe not all of them, but some...that's all we should care about." Atem said softly.

"But, that means I didn't fulfill my duty to you...I promised I would help you get all of your memories back...not some...!" Yugi said shakily into Atem's shoulder as his tears began to escape against his will.

Atem frowned slightly and gently rubbed Yugi's back again slowly and comfortly, "Yugi, look at me..."

Yugi sniffled softly as he slowly looked up at the ex-Pharaoh and Atem gently wiped away Yugi's tears with his thumbs.

"Yugi, you didn't fail me as a hikari...you promised me you would help me get my memories back, but you didn't necessarily say that we would get all of them back. You were my closest friend and you still are and I will never allow you to think that everything you've done for me was for nothing...without you, I would've remained blind to my own identity and I would've remained just as cold inside as I'd become after I played the evil Orichalcos card..." Atem said softly, though his tone was filled with an emotion that Yugi couldn't explain.

Yugi blinked at him slowly, then smiled slightly, "Thanks, Atem..."

"I'm just telling you the truth, Yugi..." Atem replied while returning the smile.

The soul brothers once again embraced one another tightly while gently taking a hold of the back of each other's shirts and Yugi sighed softly as his stress was slowly relieved as Atem slowly began to run his fingers brotherly through Yugi's hair while his head rested gently and sideways against Atem's chest. Yugi could remember clearly a time when he had gotten sick with the fever and Atem had taken time out of pondering his own existence to try and relieve the stress Yugi was under during the time Yugi had slipped accidentally into the Millenium Puzzle, and Atem had held Yugi similarlly like this until Yugi fell asleep and Yugi felt a sort of comfort that he'd never felt before sweep over him at the sound of Atem's gentle, slow heartbeat. The sound still filled Yugi with the same comfort feeling as it did before and Yugi now felt a strange warmth sweep over him that relaxed every muscle in his body while his mind was also filled with a relaxing sensation as well. Atem slowly turned his head to stare at the black pod silently while it still continued it's lively crimson pulsing and he then silently looked back down at Yugi as the smaller male turned his head slowly against the ex-Pharaoh's chest to stare silently at the pod as well with the same blank stare before Atem slowly returned his eyes back to the pod with it's organic shell still pulsing like a human heartbeat. The shadowed outline of the fetus inside looked like it had grown slightly and the brothers slowly met eyes.

"I'm abit hesitant about finding out what's inside that thing..." Yugi said softly.

"Same here..." Atem replied just as softly.

They were interupted by the sound of the door slowly opening and the males slowly turned their heads to see Rona slowly enter the room with Carina following close behind, then Rona slowly sat down beside Yugi as Ann slowly walked up to greet her with a gentle nose nudge to the golden-eyed girl's knee while Carina stood near the window as she crossed her arms casually and Rona gently scratched the top of Ann's head silently while Yugi slowly turned out of Atem's arms to sit the same way Rona was as Atem slowly did the same. Carina questioned the slight silence between the two soul brothers since the two seemed close enough to rarely ever have any periods of silence and the two males met eyes before Atem softly repeated the telling of the conversation he had with Hikmat through the glass of the dome. Rona put a hand slowly over her mouth silently at the mention of Yami Heba's mother, then she slowly looked over at Atem at the mentioning of the "price" and she blinked her single exposed eye before slowly looking forward as Atem neared the end of the conversation. Carina sighed softly before she darted her head towards the door hearing the sound of a low, bellowing howl that was only loud enough to reach her ears along with the ears of the others in the room and she rushed out of the room and down the stairs to hurriedly open the front door while Rona gently gathered the pod into her arms like a newborn infant before she slowly followed the two males walkingly down the hall and down the stairs to see who was the source of the sound. By the time the three were on the porch, Carina had her arms happily around the neck of a 6' 1" tall male with slightly tanned skin, hard mature facial features, a highly muscular form that was hard to hide even through his dark brown leather trench coat that hid most of his arm muscles that bore easily through his white button-up collared shirt that he wore underneath, dark blue jeans, a pair of dark brown boots on his feet, a black leather belt around his waist with a silver belt buckle depicting the image of a howling wolf, a faint stubble around his jaw and chin area, light blue eyes, light gray hair underneath a tan cowboy hate he wore on his head that hid his eyes and only showed his fatherly smile as he gently swung Carina around, making her giggle happily as she clung to him just as gently.

"Ah, Carina...I'm so glad they didn't get you..." the man said with a rough, though warm voice.

"Me too...I thank the Lord that you're safe." Carina replied softly into the man's shoulder before she slowly broke away to quickly move over to a 6' tall woman with brown, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, a slender bodily figure with a thin bodily appearance, matured facial features, a black leather jacket over a black tank top, black leather pants, and black leather boots, to give that woman one kiss to each pale cheek before she embraced the woman tightly as the woman returned it whole heartedly.

The man slowly looked over just as the Kaiba brothers moved onto the porch on either side of the spikey haired males and he bumped up his hat slightly with his right fore-finger knuckle, "I take it the tallest out of all of ya is Seto..."

Rona shuffled over to the side slightly so Kaiba could slowly walk forward and down the stairs towards the man with a slight nod in response, "I'm Seto Kaiba, yes."

"Thanks for taking care of my pack daughter...it's nice that a few humans still got some kind of kindness in 'em...the name's Abraham. Abraham Bernard. The pack calls me 'Ace'." the man replied.

"I can relate slightly after she told me that her family was all she had...my brother is all I have as well. Our parents abandoned us at a young age and I've grown close to my sibling and he's grown to look up to everything I've ever done." Kaiba said, nodding back towards Mokuba, who put his hands fromally behind his back and straightened his posture abit more.

"I had a brother myself...a sister too. My mother left all three of us with my father, a pack alpha himself, and the old timer kicked the bucket after he got sick with some kind of disease that couldn't be cured nor treated and my brother wasn't even close to adolecent years and my sister was a teenager, I was a young adult. My sister ran off with some rebel Werewolf and my brother ran off on his own as soon as he passed 13...I was left by my lonesome." Abraham said softly.

"Sorry to hear that...looks like you're making good of yourself if you've got so many in the pack." Kaiba said.

Abraham looked over his shoulder at the black hummer where two 5' 9" tall men, one with shoulder length black hair, pale skin, mature facial features, a white skin-tight shirt that bore his muscles clearly, black jeans, black boots, and bright blue eyes, and the other male having dark brown hair, slightly tanned skin, brown eyes, black tank underneath a black leather jacket, black leather pants with a black leather belt around his waist with a silver belt buckle, black motorycle boots, and matured facial features, waited while leaning on the side of the vehicle casually, the brown-haired male having his hands in his pockets and the black-haired male having his arms casually crossed. The brown-haired male, Bentley Thompson, was the first Carina rushed over to hug around his neck and he smiled brotherly while putting his arms around her protectively while the black-haired male, Jackson Harris, slowly removed himself from the side of the vehicle to recieve his own embrace from Carina and he gently put his arms around her while rocking her back and forth slightly in a brotherly manner. Abraham looked forward at Kaiba to explain that Jackson had been the first Werewolf that he'd partnered with and Bentley soon followed, then Dakota Morrison, the tan-skinned, black short-cut haired, mature facial featured, green eyed, 5' 9" tall, muscular man sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle who didn't emerge until Carina tapped on the window and she could see that he was wearing a black leather tank underneath a black zip-up hooded jacket, black jeans, and black sneakers as she hugged him around his neck gently. After Dakota, Abraham continued, came Cameron Ambrosia, the woman Carina had embraced after Ace, and Travis Ambrosia, the oldest out of the three Ambrosia siblings, Cameron being the middle child, along with Carina, the youngest. Travis, Kaiba assumed, was the 6' tall male with slightly tanned skin, a white t-shirt underneath a black leather vest with no sleeves, dark blue jeans and dark brown leather belt with a silver belt buckle, dark brown leather boots, and was currently jumping down from the roof of the hummer to capture his sister in a playful lift into the air while twirling her around before he held her close to him in a bear hug while she giggled the whole time happily while hugging around his neck.

"Well...I'll see ya around, . You keep being good to your brother." Abraham said softly.

"You keep being good to your pack. Tell Carina she can come back here if she needs another place to stay for awhile." Kaiba replied.

"Sure do appreciate it, ." Abraham said while holding out his hand.

Kaiba took it into his own and shook it gently, Abraham's hand feeling like rough leather, then the two men released each others hands before Abraham tipped his hat down slightly at the business man and Abraham slowly turned around to walk towards his pack siblings by the hummer while Kaiba turned and walked back onto the porch. Yugi slowly turned around with Atem to walk back into the house while Rona followed close behind them and Kaiba stood beside Mokuba while the two Kaiba brothers stared at one another silently before they both looked forward seeing Carina rushing back over towards the porch and Kaiba widened his eyes slightly as Carina hugged him around his neck while he fought to keep his balance before he gently put his arms around her mid-back in a hesitant manner. Carina gently kissed his cheek while quietly thanking him before she slowly released him to rush back over to the vehicle and she got into the back with her siblings while Bentley got into the very back and the vehicle slowly drove off while Kaiba lightly touched the cheek she had kissed, then he slowly turned around and silently walked into the house with Mokuba following close behind. Inside the entry hall was Yugi, Atem, and Rona, Yugi and Atem looking at each other while whispering about what they should bring to Egypt while Rona stood beside Yugi while stroking the pod in her arms as she looked at the Kaiba brothers silently and Kaiba nodded at her reassuringly as the spiked-haired look-alikes slowly ended their conversation to look over at the Kaiba brothers as well silently. All four individuals were equally thinking of the same thing.

"Well...now, I suppose I should start booking our flights. Mokuba, you and everyone else start packing your things. I'll let everyone know when I find a flight leaving to the closest time available." Kaiba said softly.

Yugi and Atem silently nodded before Yugi looked over at Rona only to gently put an arm around her after seeing the saddened look in her golden eye and she slowly looked over at him feeling his arm around her, then her golden eye slowly brightened after seeing his slight smile and she slowly walked alongside him as he walked with Atem towards the stairs with Little Ann waiting for them at the very top. Mokuba silently followed behind them at a distance while Kaiba remained in the entry hall for a few more moments as he touched the cheek Carina had lain a kiss to while he stared at the floor silently and he silently walked into the living room while still holding that cheek even as he silently sat down on his couch in front of the coffee table where his laptop lay. He slowly removed his hand from his cheek to open up the contraption and he silently typed on the keyboard almost blindly to bring up the Domino Airport website before he then began to look through the times and places of each flight and he blinked slowly seeing a flight to Cairo, Egypt going tomorrow early in the morning, then he silently bookmarked the page and slowly leaned back against the couch with a faint sigh. Meanwhile, Mokuba was arranging with the driver and an assistant to bring some of Yugi's clothing over to the mansion while Yugi was sitting on the bed in the room that he shared with Atem in the Kaiba mansion while Atem was down in the lab while watching Hikmat silently pace back and forth in the glass dome he was being kept in while Rona sat with Yugi on the bed while holding the pod in her arms protectively. Hikmat was singing to himself a lullaby in Egyptian that Atem had heard only once or twice from Mana, who only sang it whenever Mohad wasn't around to hear because he disapproved of it strongly for a reason he never said and a reason Atem didn't dare ask.

"Dear child of mine, with eyes so clear Please don't whine, nor shed a tear Your dear mother is here with you Your smile blends in with the morning hue

Your father is away at war, oh child of mine Your smile fills his heart with adrenaline Each time you smile, he feels it in spirit Your smile sends his heart to beat like the drums"

Atem knew the lullaby was about a mother and a father with a child, the father at war while the mother is at home, but he had no idea why it upsetted Mohad so much that Mana sing such a lullaby that she'd probably heard from the slaves or from the children in the city since she'd sneak out a few times until Mohad officially became a priest and he looked over silently at Hikmat after hearing the song end only to see the creature staring blankly at the canine food piled into a glass bowl with water in a seperate bowl sitting beside it. The ex-Pharaoh felt a slight atmosphere of an identity crisis or saddness around Hikmat in terms of his purpose and Atem couldn't deny that he could relate, he was just unsure as to if Hikmat was really depressed over it now that he was freed from Yugi and he'd said things he was ordered not to say and now there was a slight chance that Yami Heba might come after him for blood. Hikmat silently began to eat the dry dog food after lowering his head while Atem continued to watch him and Atem made a slight face at how he could perfectly see every muscle and bone shifting around in the motion of just the lifting and lowering of Hikmat's jaw bone, the food traveling down his thin throat, which Atem tried to avoid looking at because of the faint outline of the food that showed, and through the esophogus before settling in Hikmat's stomach, which Atem could see slightly expand to make room. Hikmat then moved to the water as Atem continued to watch him and Atem raised an eyebrow slightly after seeing that Hikmat's long, snake-like tounge was colored a venomous green with a dim blend of purple and his thin throat expanded to allow the flow of water to run through smoothly before slowly moving back into normal formation as Hikmat rose his head slowly from the bowl while slowly moving to the center of the dome to slowly lay down with his body laying on it's side. Atem quickly looked forward after Hikmat noticed he was staring and he looked over from the corner of his eye after hearing Hikmat's dry chuckling.

"You're not the first one to stare...I know what I look like, my Pharaoh." Hikmat said softly.

"I got curious is all...I'm still pondering on how you can survive being so thin and with your bones nearly exposed." Atem replied.

Hikmat slowly looked at his sides, then looked back over at Atem, "Actually...," he slowly shuffled to his feet and slowly made his way over to the glass, "that's another thing I need to mention, my Pharaoh. Please don't take any pity on me..."

Atem blinked and slowly stood up to walk over in front of Hikmat, "What is it, Hikmat?"

"I was created for the sole purpose of feeding off another and using their depression and despair as an energy source...I can live off of food in this world, but the negative energy of others is what gives me my full strength. Pretty soon, if my master doesn't come for me...I'll waste away into ashes. Abit of a cruel twist of fate, but that's life...and I'm not necessarily made to live in this world where no other creature but me needs to feed off of others for strength." Hikmat replied softly.

Atem frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Hikmat shook his head slowly in protest, "No need to waste any words of sympathy towards me, my Pharaoh. I'm ready for however I am going to end...wether by my master's cold hand or by a slow, sleeping death..."

"Hikmat..." Atem said softly as he lowered into a kneel, Hikmat being only 5' 7" in standing height.

Hikmat once again shook his head as he slowly sat onto the floor, "Please, my Pharaoh...don't...I don't deserve it. Not after what I did to your friend. Like I said, I am ready for my end...I can only pray that my master forgets to come for me and I can die in a sleeping peace. That's the way I would rather go..."

Atem blinked slowly, then sighed softly, "I forgive you...and Yugi couldn't hate a living creature to save his life...no matter what they've done to him...he couldn't bring himself to hate me after I betrayed him so badly..."

"I can die happily...knowing that I am forgiven and I've told you everything that you needed to know about my employer..." Hikmat said softly, putting a boney paw against the glass of the dome.

Atem gently put his hand against the glass over where Hikmat's boney paw was, his hand almost perfectly fitting in his paw, and Atem felt the sting of Hikmat's depression shoot through his nerves like a sting of despairing electricity while he closed his eyes at the feeling, then he slowly re-opened his eyes just as Hikmat was slowly removing his paw from the glass and he slowly met Hikmat's bright crimson eyes that stared back at him concernly as Atem slowly removed his hand from the glass. Hikmat then silently stood from his place only to bow his head in respect until his nostrils barely touched the ground before he slowly rose his head once again to see Atem bow his own head back slightly and Hikmat's ears slowly moved forward before he slowly walked away from the glass to the center of the dome while Atem slowly stood from his kneeling position as he watched Hikmat shuffle into a laying position on the floor in the center of the dome. The ex-Pharaoh blinked slowly as he watched Hikmat lay his boney head down upon his folded paws and he let out a slow, soft sigh without noticing Kaiba slowly move over to his side until he looked over and up at the taller male as Kaiba looked forward at Hikmat through the glass of the dome before he met eyes with Atem only to frown in concern after noticing the dulled color in Atem's eyes, but the ex-Pharaoh silently shook his head to refrain Kaiba from questioning the color change prior to walking away from the taller male without a word being said. Kaiba blinked at Atem's sudden behavior and looked at Hikmat before looking at Atem's back silently, then he slowly walked after the ex-Pharaoh as Atem walked up the stairs out of the lab. The billionair followed Atem all the way into the living room only to see the ex-Pharaoh sit down on the couch with a faint sigh and Kaiba slowly sat down beside Atem silently while looking concernly at the Pharaoh as Atem's dulled eyes stared blankly at the floor.

"Atem...what's wrong?" Kaiba asked softly.

"...Hikmat's going to die, Kaiba..." Atem replied almost faintly.

"That surprises you? He already said he told us things that he shouldn't have...I don't see why you're so bent out of shape anyway..." Kaiba said softly.

Atem slightly glared at him, "Kaiba, he said he never did what he was supposed to do to Yugi...he said that the one thing he wanted was forgiveness and now the only thing on his mind is his end...!"

"You need to stop worrying about every little thing! So what if Hikmat's going to kick the bucket? What does it mean to you?" Kaiba replied firmly.

"You don't get it...I could feel it when he sent his pain through me like electricity...he feels as if he has no other purpose in life other than being a parasite to others and he's severely depressed. There has to be a way that we can-"

Atem was silenced by a harsh slap to his face by Kaiba's hand that sent him to the floor with a loud grunt and Atem shakily pushed himself after recovering from shock a few minutes later, then he looked over his shoulder at Kaiba who was looking down at him with familiur icy eyes and Atem looked back down at the floor slowly before pushing himself onto his feet as he placed a hand to his stinging cheek. Kaiba slowly stood only to turn Atem towards him while the ex-Pharaoh tensed slightly from feeling Kaiba's hands on his shoulders in the process and he looked up into Kaiba's eyes while he still held his burning cheek. The taller male slowly removed Atem's hand from the cheek he'd lain his hand on and Atem blinked slowly as he watched the color in Kaiba's eyes dull themselves in response to his sudden action, then Atem tensed slightly and widened his eyes as Kaiba, without a warning, wrapped his arms family-like around him tightly while whispering an apology in Egyptian. Atem blinked slowly in response to Kaiba's behavior before he looked at Kaiba's head through the corner of his eye and he blinked again slowly as he slowly slipped his arms free from against Kaiba's chest to wrap them around the taller male in a family-like manner while he closed his eyes slowly as the sting in his cheek slowly faded. Atem quietly questioned Kaiba's sudden action after a few moments into the embrace and Kaiba let out a slow, almost quiet sigh if it hadn't passed right by Atem's ear.

"...Carina's kiss...brought up Kisara...and...everything else just flooded past by...seeing you depressed over someone like Hikmat made it worse..." Kaiba replied softly.

Atem opened his eyes slightly, his chin resting slightly on Kaiba's shoulder, "...Hikmat's nothing like Bakura...if you'd seen what I saw in his eyes, you'd know what I'm talking about..."

"...I'll take your word for it..." Kaiba replied softly as he tightened his hold on his past cousin slightly.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

The next morning, Yugi was slowly awoke by Ann licking his face gently while making faint motherly sounds and he slowly shifted awake as Atem's deep, gentle voice was added in a gentle coax to awaken him further, then he slowly opened his eyes to see Ann's face close to his and he slowly raised a hand to rub the top of her head gently before he looked up to see Atem sitting behind him while looking down at him and he then looked at Rona, who was sitting by his legs on the bed with a pale hand on his thigh. He slowly sat up as soon as Ann slowly moved back from his face and looked over at Atem slowly to see him with a look of amusement on his face before the smaller male gently shoved the ex-Pharaoh in the chest only to earn himself a soft chuckle from Atem and a playful shove to the arm that was gentle. Rona then leaned over to lightly kiss Yugi's cheek good morning before receiving a faint blush in response while Atem shuffled off the bed to fill Ann's food and water bowls and the ex-Pharaoh then picked up Yugi's plate of breakfast along with the fork and the glass of orange juice, then he slowly walked over and laid the plate on Yugi's lap gently while handing him the glass of juice as Yugi quietly thanked him. Ann quietly ate her hard food while Atem gently stroked her back in a slow manner as Yugi ate his breakfast silently with Rona beside him and the ex-Pharaoh slowly stood from his kneeling position beside Ann to walk over towards the door without a word. Yugi watched him do so, but said nothing after he felt something was wrong in the vibe that Atem gave off and he continued to eat silently with Rona still at his side as Ann finished off the last of her own breakfast before moving to her water bowl only to drink it down just as medium paced as she did with her food.

Meanwhile, Atem decended into the basement/lab and gently flipped on the lights with a switch before moving towards the glass dome only to freeze in his tracks after noticing Hikmat laying motionless on the floor of the dome in a puddle of bright crimson blood that matched the blood splattered on the glass of the dome itself while it also covered different areas of the floor. Atem rushed up to the observation room to flip the switch that sent the door control into automatic before he rushed back down the steel staircase and into the glass dome, then he lowered onto his knees beside Hikmat only to see that Hikmat's crimson eyes had dulled while being half-closed while a grim smile played on his lips and Atem closed his eyes tightly for a few moments while taking in a shaking breath before slowly exhaling to keep himself together as he gently placed a hand on Hikmat's motionless form that had grown cold over-night. The ex-Pharaoh re-opened his eyes to look sorrowfully down at Hikmat's smiling face and he slowly raised his other hand to gently close Hikmat's eyelids while he kept his occupied hand on Hikmat's rib cage to try and feel for any sign of a breath that might still remain in Hikmat. No breath moved the almost torn rib-cage that stained Atem's palm without the ex-Pharaoh noticing until he lifted his hand and looked at where his hand was laying to see that Hikmat's entire rib-cage was almost completely exposed as well as Hikmat's abdomen that spilled black liquid that blended with his blood, then he looked back up at Hikmat's face to see that the smile on the creature's lips had not faded and he clenched his hand into a shaking fist that gently laid against Hikmat's side without disturbing the torn flesh. He then lifted his eyes to see Kaiba standing in the entrance of the dome with Mokuba at his side and Yugi behind him, Yugi having a hand over his mouth with eyes slightly widened in horror at the sight of Hikmat's torn body and the splatters of blood almost covering the entire dome.

"...Poor Hikmat..." Rona said sadly as she held the pod to her chest abit tighter as she stood at Yugi's side.

"...Atem...look..." Kaiba said softly as he pointed behind the ex-Pharaoh.

Atem blinked slowly at the billionair before his head turned to look over his shoulder at the message written in blood on the dome wall behind him and the ex-Pharaoh slowly developed a frown of hatred as he wore the message, "DEEP WITHIN THE DESERT SANDS, LIES AN ALICE WITH BLOOD ON HIS HANDS. HIS LATEST, BUT SURELY NOT HIS LAST VICTIM, WILL BE A FOOLISH PHARAOH AND HIS SIDEKICK WITH A DEADLY SYMPTOM." Yugi slowly moved forward while staring at the message with eyes full of disbelief at the last few words and he then looked at Atem to see the ex-Pharaoh slowly rise from the floor as the smaller male silently made his way to Atem while he stared at the blood on Atem's hands from touching Hikmat. The ex-Pharaoh slowly looked over at him from the message before looking at his hands and at his pant legs to see that he was stained with Hikmat's blood, then he looked slowly back up at Yugi to see something hidden in the violet orbs of the smaller male's eyes that the ex-Pharaoh couldn't decifer and he frowned concernly before Yugi took his wrist instead of his hand to lead Atem silently out of the dome while saying softly that they still had a flight that they needed to catch. Atem stopped beside Kaiba while looking up at the billionair silently with a message in his eyes that only Kaiba understood and the billionair nodded silently in acceptance to the request as the ex-Pharaoh allowed himself to be pulled out of the lab while Rona followed him closely as Kaiba looked over at Mokuba silently. The younger Kaiba nodded and slowly walked forward alongside his elder sibling and the Kaiba brothers carefully lifted Hikmat's paper-weight heavy corpse from the floor with blood heavily dripping off of it as they did so before they carried it out of the dome and up a second steel staircase that led into the courtyard lawn that the Kaiba brothers laid Hikmat's corpse upon. Kaiba removed his outer jacket and handed it to Mokuba before pulling up his sleeves, then the older Kaiba took a hold of a shovel and began digging a deep hole in the ground that would fit Hikmat's body, then the brothers pulled Hikmat off the ground only to lay him carefully in the hole and Kaiba then silently re-filled the hole with dirt.

Meanwhile, Atem tossed the washcloth he was using to dry his hands into the sink after washing them completly of the blood and he then looked down at Yugi as the smaller male finished wiping off the ex-Pharaoh's leather pants that cleaned easily, then Yugi silently stood and tossed the washcloth he was using into the sink as well. Atem stopped Yugi from moving towards the door by putting a hand on Yugi's arm to turn Yugi back around to face him and he stared into Yugi's violet eyes that were still slightly dull while Yugi stared back in slight confusion until he noticed the analyzing look in Atem's eyes. Yugi averted his eyes quickly to the floor only to be forced to lift his head back up as a gentle hand pushed up his chin and he swallowed hard after seeing Atem's eyebrows push together out of concern while his eyes showed nothing but worry, then he tensed slightly as Atem questioned his behavior and he quickly lowered his eyes to the floor once more only to have his head raised once more along with his eyes that met Atem's worried ones. The smaller male then softly explained the conversation he and his grandfather had in the hospital, while Solomon Muto was going under treatment for his illness, about Yugi's father that Solomon had rarely mentioned throughout the time Yugi had been raised by him and Atem slowly blinked while his eyebrows slowly spread apart as he listened only to frown once more in concern after seeing the color in Yugi's eyes dull at the memory. The ex-Pharaoh remembered going through Yugi's soul room once when they still shared minds and discovered a picture of a man, a woman, and a young child smiling together in front of a nice-looking house and the child looked like a younger version of Yugi while the couple looked middle-aged with faces that looked like gray misty orbs that didn't reveil even an inch of the couple's true faces at all, the memory of it made Atem realise that Yugi didn't know anything about his parents right at the same time that Atem didn't know his own parents.

"Yugi..." Atem said softly.

Yugi slowly shook his head while forcing a slight smile despite threatening to spill tears, "It's not important...we have something bigger to be worrying about than my parents...we'll worry about it later, okay?"

Atem gently wiped away a tear that was at the very edge of Yugi's right eye and was threatening to spring loose, "Alright, Yugi...

Both males turned their heads after hearing a knock at the door and they both blinked hearing Kaiba's voice, "Hurry up, you two! We've got a plane to catch, so don't spend too much time cleaning up."

"We'll be right out!" Atem called back before looking at Yugi concernly once more only to have Yugi smile at him reassuringly.

"Let's do this...just like old times." Yugi said softly.

Atem blinked, then smiled slightly with a slight nod, "I'm right beside you, Yugi."

The soul brothers took each others hands brotherly while nodding at each other encouragingly and they slowly broke the contact afterwards to exit the bathroom, then both spikey-haired males walked behind the Kaiba brothers down the hall towards the staircase while Yugi took Rona's free hand that wasn't holding the orb to her chest to keep her at his side as she followed at the same pace and they all walked out of the mansion to the limozine that was waiting right outside. Mokuba was allowed into the limo first with Seto following close behind and the Kaiba brothers sat in the leather seats on the side with the black window allowing contact with the driver behind them and Yugi slowly moved into the limo to sit across from the Kaiba brothers with Rona slowly moving into the vehicle behind him to sit by Yugi. Atem moved into the vehicle after her and Roland helped Little Ann into the vehicle while trying to avoid Ann's affectionate licking and the canine sat on the floor between the two pairs of the seats while wagging her tail happily as Yugi gently scratched the top of her head while Rona gently stroked the back of Ann's neck. The drive to the airport was silent as Ann laid her head in Yugi's lap while accepting strokes and scratches from the others in the vehicle and Rona kept the pod close to her chest and securely in her lap, Atem staring out the window with a thoughtful look in his eyes while Kaiba was looking out his own window with a similar expression, Mokuba occupying himself with stroking Ann's furr along her spine as she fought to keep herself awake. When the vehicle slowly stopped in front of the airport, Atem noticed Carina, Travis, and Cameron standing together in front of the airport with their own luggage and he looked over at Kaiba to see that the billionair was already halfway out of the vehicle which forced a slight chuckle out of him.

"Carina...what are you doing here?" Kaiba asked as he approached her.

Carina chuckled faintly, "I'm not letting you have all of the fun...I remembered the dilema you have to go through, so I decided to tag along as a bigger way of saying "thank you" for letting me stay with you under your roof."

Kaiba was about to reply when Carina laid another light kiss to his cheek that made the taller brunette stiffen slightly while a very faint blush settled on his cheeks and he blinked rapidly, then he cleared his throat adultly as Carina moved back from him, "I-It was nothing...!"

"My, my, my...do my eyes deceive me, or is that a blush I see on the great Seto Kaiba's cheeks?~" Atem mused as he walked over beside the billionair.

Kaiba looked over at Atem with a death glare, "You be quiet...!"

"Boy, howdy, he's pinker than a baby pig's hide..." Travis said while pushing up the tip of his black cowboy hat with his thumb.

"Travis, mind your own. He kept our sister in a nice environment while we were dealing with a living h***...be nice." Cameron said softly while affectionately elbowing her older brother in the side.

"Sorry, Cam'..." Travis chuckled as he rubbed his sore side.

"I take it your Travis and Cameron. It's nice to meet you..." Kaiba said as he extended his hand to Travis first while Carina moved back to let him greet her siblings.

"Nice to meet you too, ." Travis said as he shook Kaiba's hand firmly before slowly releasing.

"Charmed. Forgive us for not saying our greetings yesterday...we were so happy that Carina was alright that we forgot our manners...and so did the others..." Cameron said softly as she gently shook Kaiba's hand before releasing it after it was extended to her.

"I understand...I assume you three already have your tickets?" Kaiba asked.

Carina smiled as she held up the tickets in her hand, "Yours too. Sorry, we got nosey. Don't worry about the money though, it was just extra that we scraped off of the money Abraham got for a bounty. He didn't even want it."

Kaiba blinked and took his tickets after Carina offered them to him, "Thank you..."

"It's no problem at all. Now, let's get on the plane, hm?" Carina asked while smiling abit more.

Kaiba nodded and glared over at Atem as the ex-Pharaoh hummed amusingly at the faint blush that remained on the billionair's cheeks even as Carina walked away with her siblings, then Atem chuckled and patted Kaiba's left cheek lightly before silently following them in a quick walk to avoid Kaiba's hand trying to ruffle his hair. The group boarded the plane after their luggage was safely taken and Ann placed in a spare crate to be shipped along with the other animals on the plane and Yugi gave her an old chew-toy she used to play with as a younger dog whenever she would get bored or if he was too busy to play with her himself. Kaiba and Mokuba sat in a pair of seats that had another pair of seats across from them that were facing the opposite direction and Yugi and Atem sat in those seats while the three Ambrosia siblings sat together across the aisle from them with Rona sitting across from Cameron and Atem couldn't help grinning everytime he glanced over to see Kaiba staring over at Carina while hiding most of his face in an old book while Yugi was thoughtfully looking out the window the whole flight to Egypt. Once Kaiba was fully focused on his book, Mokuba was sound asleep with his head in Kaiba's lap, and the Ambrosia trio were too occupied to notice, Rona was asleep sitting up with the pod loosely held in her arms, the soul brothers looked at each other for a long time without saying a word and the two were sending each other mental messages through their eyes since their mental bond was no more now that they had seperate bodies, Atem mostly sending messages that tried cheering Yugi up a little while Yugi's messages were mainly focused on the purpose of the trip as whatever Yugi was hiding from the ex-Pharaoh earlier was fighting itself not to peak into Yugi's eyes. Atem had a feeling that he knew what it was and it was only the fact that he cared too much for Yugi to see the color dull in his eyes again that was keeping him from being his own thoughtful self and questioning the subject.

The landing was barely noticable until the pilot announced that they had arrived in Cairo, Egypt and the group slowly left the plane just as Little Ann was freed from the crate only to pounce onto Yugi while barking happily at their re-union after many hours of being seperated from her master while she held the chew-toy firmly between her jaws as Yugi laughed at her behavior while he lay underneath her. Atem chuckled softly at this display before looking over slowly at Rona as she stared off into the distance at what remained of the palace of Cairo and Atem blinked slowly seeing that the palace still stood proudly high while showing only slight signs of aging, then he looked back over quickly at Kaiba as he commented that the palace still stood taller that the ex-Pharaoh and Atem huffed in response while elbowing the billionair in the abdomen in a family-like manner as he replied that it wasn't the size of the king that mattered, but how high he kept his head and how he treated his people. Kaiba nodded slowly in a mocking manner while rubbing the sore area where Atem's elbow made contact and Atem glared at him threateningly while barely noticing Yugi tugging on his sleeve lightly as Mokuba did the same to Kaiba. Atem then grinned a feline grin that Kaiba knew all too well and commented on the fact that size only mattered in reference to his winning streek compared to the billionair's loss record and Kaiba's eye twitched as he growled angrily at the memory, then the ex-Pharaoh closed his eyes while putting his nose up in the air as his grin grew abit wide and he silently walked away towards the airport with his hands in his pockets and Yugi following him close behind after the smaller male had gathered his luggage and Rona following behind Yugi while Ann walked alongside her. Carina then walked over concernly to question if Kaiba was alright and the billionair immediately dropped his icy glare towards Atem's back only to replace it with his natural calm expression while nodding at her reassuringly.

"That's good...for a minute, I thought you two were going to rush at each other like rams and butt heads." Carina chuckled.

"He keeps his ballsy attitude, I'll do more than ram my head into his..." Kaiba muttered under his breath.

"Hm?" Carina asked while raising an eyebrow.

"N-Nothing...let's just get to the hotel..." Kaiba replied while rubbing the back of his neck, something he never really did before and he cursed himself mentally thinking he got the habit from Yugi.

Carina nodded to his request and gathered her things before following him and Mokuba into the airport with her siblings following her closely in a protective manner, then the group re-joined Atem along with Yugi, Rona, and Ann and Kaiba narrowed his eyes noticing Atem had his arms crossed behind his head while still standing up as he looked over at the billionair through the corner of his eye with a faint grin. Kaiba softly warned him that he would get rid of the smirk if Atem didn't drop it and Atem responded by slowly turning his head towards the billionair only to stick his tounge out immaturely at the taller brunette before moving quickly out of the way to avoid being grabbed and this made Kaiba move into Yugi slightly accidentally, which made Yugi go into Rona and the smaller spikey-haired male quickly put his arms around Rona to keep his and her balance while their faces were only a few inches from each other. Mokuba slapped his forehead while muttering that people were staring while Carina giggled at the display ammusingly as her siblings both had raised eyebrows at the two males while Atem and Kaiba were staring at one another, Atem still having his felinish grin and Kaiba having an icy glare towards the ex-Pharaoh. Yugi meanwhile was staring slightly wide-eyed at Rona as he kept his arms around her petite form while the pod remained safely kept between them and Rona stared back with her own slightly widened eye that stared silently into Yugi's own, then her eye slowly relaxed as she leaned up slowly to kiss his cheek before Yugi quickly turned his head to kiss her lips gently in an automatic action that he couldn't control and this made both of them widen their eyes slightly while both blushed heavily prior to Rona's exposed eye slowly relaxed once more upon her responding. They slowly broke the kiss without saying a word a few moments later and turned their heads to see that no one had taken notice upon being distracted by gathering their things and they then looked at one another with faint blushes remaining on their cheeks before they looked down to see that Little Ann was staring up at them with a look in her eyes that said "I'm not stupid..."

Yugi and Atem got a room together while Rona also was staying in the room with them, Ann instantly making herself comfy on one of the queen-sized beds while Yugi and Atem were both looking out the window as Rona was busy staring at the black pod in her arms that still pulsed crimson with life and Yugi looked over at Atem to see that the ex-Pharaoh was staring intently at the palace of Cairo that stood proudly in the distance. Yugi slowly turned his head to look out at the palace as well and the feeling of something beckoning to him budded in his stomach as he continued to stare at the palace of stone that housed many Pharaohs throughout the time it was inhabited. He then looked back over at Atem only to see the ex-Pharaoh's eyes still intently focused on the palace and he began to get the feeling that the same beckoning feeling that he was currently feeling in his gut was going through Atem's system as well, then the two soul brothers looked at one another and Yugi could see that his prediction was true as Atem sent a mental message through his eyes towards him. Yugi then looked over his shoulder over at Rona to see her staring over at them in concern while Ann was silently doing the same from her curled up place on the bed and he smiled at both of them reassuringly before looking over at Atem to see that the ex-Pharaoh's attention had fallen back to the palace. The smaller male sighed softly as he walked away from the window and over to sit down beside Rona and the two looked at each other silently before Yugi's eyes fell to the pod that lay comfortably in Rona's lap.

"...What's exactly supposed to happen with that thing? How long is it going to take before it opens?" Yugi asked.

"That's for the lifeform inside to decide...it's supposed to bud into a big flower the color of it's pod and that's how whatever is inside this shelter is supposed to be born. Whether it's an Alice or not, we won't find out until it believes it's ready..." Rona replied softly.

"...Rona...I don't think we can take a chance to keep lugging it around if there's a chance it could get hurt along the way. I don't know what's going to happen after we go see whoever is waiting for us in the palace..." Yugi said softly as he put a hand on the pod.

"Yugi, I can't leave it here...something might happen to it while we're gone. Besides, I promise that I won't let anything happen to it...I promised it that I wouldn't. Please, Yugi..." Rona pleaded as she held it closer to her chest in a protective manner.

Yugi stared at her for a long while before sighing softly in defeat, "Alright, Rona...just make sure it doesn't burst or anything."

"I promise..." Rona replied before leaning over and kissing Yugi's cheek lightly.

Yugi blushed faintly as she did so and cleared his throat after she did so only to blush heavier as he noticed Atem's eyes looking at him from over the ex-Pharaoh's shoulder and Atem grinned felinishly before slowly turning his head forward and Yugi bashfully looked at his lap while muttering to himself until Rona silenced him with a faint kiss to his lips that made him stiffen up while widening his eyes. He slowly relaxed after Rona deepened the kiss slightly as his eyes slowly closed while he responded and Atem curiously peaked over his shoulder at them before blinking rapidly as he continued to grin. Ann lowered her ears and covered her eyes with her paws while making a faint doggish groan while Yugi and Rona slowly broke their kiss to look at each other silently, then Rona slowly leaned into him while wrapping her arms around him in an embracing manner and Yugi put his arms around her gently as he met Atem's eyes that softened while Atem smile before the ex-Pharaoh turned his head back out the window. Yugi looked back down at Rona while smiling faintly as he gently ran his hand up and down her back in a slow, gentle manner and she sighed peacefully with her head resting comfortably against his chest over where his heart lay underneath skin, tissue, muscle, and bone. Her hat slowly fell off of her head onto the matress only to expose the curved surface of the portion of the top of her head it hid from sight while the bandages hid what lay underneath and Yugi used his other hand to gently run it along the bandages carefully that were rough with age while Rona opened her only exposed eye at the feeling of him doing so, then she blinked her eye feeling something warm touch the top of her head and she widened her golden eye hearing Yugi whisper something against her bandages: "I'll protect you..."

"...Do you promise...?" she asked softly as Yugi petted the back of her head gently.

"I do...nothing bad is going to ever happen to you as long as I'm around..." Yugi replied just as softly.

Rona closed her eye without noticing some of her bandages loosening until Yugi removed his hand from her head and she slowly opened her eye to move her head back from his chest before her eyes met his fingers to see that some of her facial bandages were wrapped around his fingers, then she slowly rose her hands to her face to remove the loosened bandages until the loose ones were all detached and she slowly blinked her eyes while looking at Yugi. Her other eye was now exposed as well as her jaw-bone long blonde hair, but most of her face was still hidden from Yugi's sight and he slowly raised a hand to run his fingers gently through her hair while staring at her slightly exposed face in confusion while her eyes slowly closed to the feeling of his fingers in her hair. She then explained that, now that the Dreamer may be captured or dead, only some of her bandages will come off as her and Yugi get closer and she slowly opened her eyes to see Yugi frown slightly in slight disappointment before she leaned forward to kiss his lips gently with her still bandaged lips to remove the disappointment from his face as he slowly responded by gently kissing back full-heartedly. Atem slowly looked down as Ann slowly walked up to his side and he slowly looked forward out the window once more while removing one of his arms from being crossed over his chest to gently scratch one of her ears as she sat at his side with a slowly wagging tail and chocolate-brown eyes staring forward into the open sands of Egypt. The ex-Pharaoh let out a slow, soft sigh as he continued to stare at the palace while the beckoning feeling began to strengthen as the sun slowly approached the horizon and he looked down at Ann to see that her fur was now a fiery color that matched the color of the lowering sun while her brown eyes looked more like hazel as they stared up at Atem while she remained silent, then Atem looked over his shoulder at Rona and Yugi to see that they were once again locked in an embrace and he then looked back down at Ann.

"Don't worry, Ann...Yugi won't be choosing Rona over you anyday...this is just him trying to fill the still-open hole in his heart that you nor I can fill. You know what I'm talking about, right?" Atem asked softly.

Ann's ears twitched at the question and she slowly made a motion similar to nodding her head in response.

"Good...I just hope they don't do anything beyond rated PG while we're here...that palace is hiding something more than the spirits of the Pharaohs that came after and before me and my father. We won't find that out until the morning comes though..." Atem said softly as his attention shifted to the palace.

Ann made a sound while wagging her tail encouragingly.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

The next morning, the group awoke fully awake and left Ann at the hotel with plenty of food and water as they made their way by vehicle, provided by Kaiba Corp., to the palace whose gates slowly crept open on their own upon their arrival, then the group walked into the large building together and Atem led the way from their towards the throne room where the beckoning feeling in Yugi and Atem's cores was orginating more strongly from. The sight of a stone falcon perched upon the right arm-rest of the throne, about two times the size of a normal falcon, awaited them and the group slowed to a stop a few feet from the golden throne while staring silently at the stone falcon as it stared blankly forward with a look of authority in it's eyes while it's appearance alone signalled it's position was higher than mortals. Kaiba crossed his arms while questioning the purpose of the falcon statue and Atem widened his eyes slightly feeling a mental pulse that gave a silent command that sent Atem onto one knee with his left knee bent forward while his right knee was bent on the floor and his left arm was pressed over his left thigh while his right hand was braced on the ground to keep his balance as his head was slightly lowered. Yugi blinked slowly at this and silently got into the same position with Rona lowering onto her right knee as well and bowing her head while holding the pod to her chest still, then the Ambrosia siblings slowly and silently went into the same position as Atem and Yugi while also bowing their heads and the Kaiba brothers soon followed suit. The statue's eyes glowed a heavenly gold as it slowly spread it's wings of stone while it let out a powerful screech that rang throughout the halls of the palace before it's wings gracefully flapped themselves to send the falcon of stone into the air so he could soar in a complete circle magestically around the throne room before slowing to a stop just in front of the throne where it perched with it's feathers a blend of gray, black, and a heavenly white while it's feet were a darker gray and it's talons a metallic black.

The falcon once again spread it's wings while tilting it's head back as a bright heavenly glow erupted from beneth it and it consumed the falcon until nothing of it could be seen before the glow slowly vanished as a 5' 8" tall man with tanned skin, a muscular figure, black shoulder-length hair that shined in a magestic way in the light seeping in from the balconies, a white tunic with a white kilt that reached down to his ankles while a gold colored sash ran down the center of the kilt with white bordering it, and white flat-soled shoes on his feet, slowly stood in place where the falcon was perched in front of the throne. The man's face was hidden by a golden mask in the shape of a falcon's face while his dark-brown eyes were shown through the eyeholes before they slowly closed as he lowered into a kneel upon Atem slowly rising from the floor and he slowly stood once the others in the group had stood as well. The white cape with gold sewn on the inside draped over the man's shoulders to touch the back of the man's ankles as he slowly decended the stairs leading away from the throne and he silently stood before Atem with Yugi slowly moving closer behind the ex-Pharaoh while Kaiba slowly moved onto the other side of Atem while the man silently watched the both of them do so. The man once again closed his eyes as he greeted each of them in the dead language of the Egyptians and Atem returned the greeting before he asked in his native tounge who the man exactly was and what his purpose in being here. The man let out a slow sigh from behind his mask and he slowly folded his hands together over his abdomen.

"I apologise that the great Bastet could not be here to explain everything, my Pharaoh...she would've loved to have met you once more. I am Sobkou, holy messenger of the Gods and I have been bound here for 5,000 years by the Winged Dragon of Ra until your mighty return to seek the memories that you are still missing. My Pharaoh, there is much that you still do not know and I am here to answer any question you may have about all of this, but I am afraid that the journey you will face here in your birthland will explain what I cannot." the man replied in a gentle voice and in Egyptian.

"What journey do you speak of? Hikmat said nothing about a journey..." Atem replied in Egyptian.

"I am afraid that Hikmat's knowledge was limited on the account that there were still things on his tounge that he was afraid to reveil to you, my Pharaoh. He had failed his purpose and he knew his employer, Dark Heba, was ready for the strike...however, he did mention useful hints towards what your journey will reveil. You must search the desert sands for the temples in which seven guardians lay in a deep, stone slumber surrounded by obsticles that represent what they held dear and what element they were born to control. Your Millenium Puzzle, my Pharaoh, will be your guide, for there is an ancient power hidden within that will point you towards the holy presence that each guardian of Egypt holds." Sobkou replied in Egyptian.

"How do I activate this power?" Atem asked in his native tounge.

"You need only ask the great god of the sun, Ra, for the power to activate, my Pharaoh, for it was Ra himself that commanded me to stay and to wait for your return." Sobkou replied.

"And where is Dark Heba hiding, Sobkou?" Atem asked.

"I am afraid that that question will have to be answered by Bastet herself. All that I can tell you is that Heba is not one to give up his location so easily, so even if you do find him in one location, he might transport to another without you even knowing." Sobkou replied.

"So, what's the point of even going after him if he can just sniff us out and teleport somewhere else?" Mokuba asked before being silenced by a raised hand from his older brother.

"I understand the young man's concern, but there is no need to worry once you awaken Bastet from her stone slumber. Even Dark Heba cannot stand up to Bastet's holy abilities..." Sobkou said softly in Egyptian.

"And why exactly to we need to awaken these seven guardians? What is their purpose in all of this and how are they going to help us?" Yugi asked in perfect Egyptian, which made Atem look back at him with slightly raised eyebrows.

"5,000 years ago, Dark Heba, who had taken the body of a noble prince who was bound by blood to the Nameless Pharaoh, Atem, forcefully from birth due to a curse that was placed upon him in the womb, had grown tired of waiting within the prince and made the prince fall ill with a fever to weaken the prince enough to where Dark Heba could take complete control with no resistance. Pharaoh Atem, in retiliation, called upon a creature, known as Atemu, or Dark Atem, who had slept in a temple beneath the palace from being sealed away by Aknamkadon, for his assistance since he and Dark Heba were brothers by blood and, therefore, equal in strength since they were twins. Seven guardians from the heavens were gathered before the three Egyptian deities of Egypt who were still recovering from Zork's assault onto their beloved country and these seven guardians were sent to the earth to do away with this new evil alongside the Pharaoh, who had been possessed by Dark Atemu at the time in return for the creature getting back at Dark Heba for leaving him abandoned in the temple for so long. The brothers of darkness clashed and fought to the death while the seven guardians from the heavens took care of whatever beasts Heba called to his aid and the twins could not see any un-equal weakness between them as the battle drained on through the night before, finally, both brothers collapsed and the seven guardians from the heavens drew away the darkness from the prince to reveil the dark creature that had been sleeping within and the creature of darkness retiliated against the seven deities by taking on the form of a large beast of shadows with crimson eyes and wings like a dragon and the rest of it's body was hidden by a black fog that would not cease. The guardians went head-to-head with this new creature only to become exaughsted as the battle continued on as the brothers of noble birth awoke from the blackness just as Atemu freed himself from the Pharaoh just in time to unite his own energy with that of the seven guardians who combined their attacks into one blow and this was enough to blast away the creature into oblivion.

"Each guardian, exaughsted and bleeding heavily from wounds they could not heal, took refuge across the land in temples dedicated to them where they were eventually frozen in a stone slumber until they were needed again. Atemu, close to the brink of the blackness from using every bit of his energy and bleeding heavily from a wound in his chest, collapsed where a pool of black blood formed underneath him while he stared blankly into nothing until his breathing stopped entirely. Heba struggled to the Pharaoh's side only to discover that Atem was struggling to hang on to what life was left in him and the young prince pulled his older brother against his chest only to hear Atem's final words, "You are the king of Egypt now...lead the people as I have and the Pharaohs before me...lead on in my place. We are twins, after all...no one will know the difference..." That ends the tale, but not the evil, for Dark Heba laid waiting in the earth where the final battle took place until something triggered his arrival back to his earth." Sobkou explained.

Rona held the pod closer to her chest at the mention of the beast and the image of the creature that appeared in the mansion made her tense as she fought against shedding tears until she looked over at the feeling of someone placing a hand on her shoulder, the owner of that hand being Carina who was staring at her concernly, "Thank you..."

"So...this all started because of my uncle..." Atem said bitterly in Egyptian as his fists clenched until Yugi gently took one of the ex-Pharaoh's hands into his own.

"I am afraid so, my Pharaoh...fate spun her own threads even while you were still developing in your mother's womb...if there are no more questions, I will take my leave." Sobkou replied with a slight bow of his head.

"Just one more question...is Atemu destined to be re-awaken as well?" Yugi asked in Egyptian.

"Only fate can reveil that, young one, for Atemu's destiny in all of this is unclear even to me. I do know that Atemu may still remain where the battle occured and he may rise again...if he is needed." Sobkou replied softly.

Rona's eyes lowered to the pod in her arms as the crimson light flashed from within the protective outer layer faster and she carefully rubbed the side of the pod in a comforting manner.

"Farewell, my Pharaoh, and may your memories be fully recovered at the end of this long, but rewarding journey." Sobkou said softly before slowly vanishing in a holy light that slowly faded once his entire physical form was gone.

"Boy, howdy, I have a funny feeling this is gonna be a longer trip that I thought it'd be." Travis said as he placed his hands on his hips in a manly manner.

"There's something fishy in the air...maybe we should go look for these guardians as soon as we can before Heba can deal another blow." Cameron said softly with her arms crossed.

Kaiba looked over at the two spikey-haired males that were remaining silent and frowned concernly after he noticed that they were looking at one another with a look in their eyes depicting painful confusion, then he silently walked towards the exit of the throne room with Mokuba following close behind and the Ambrosia siblings silently followed while Carina silently motioned Rona to follow them only to receive an instant reponse. Yugi slowly looked down at his hand as Atem silently enveloped it with his own tightly and Yugi silently returned the grip before the two men met eyes once more to share the same expression of confusion and a tint of high curiosity. The smaller male then silently looked down at the floor and didn't notice Atem silently moving in front of him until he felt the ex-Pharaoh wrap his arms around Yugi's form in a brotherly manner, then Yugi slowly put his own arms around Atem's back and clutched the back of his jacket while putting his lips into the material as his eyes stared sideways slightly. The Millenium Puzzle glowed brightly without warning and Atem opened his eyes to see that he was now standing on the balcony of his palace looking out at Cairo before he quickly looked down to see that he was now in his Pharaoh attire. He then slowly looked forward to see the citizens of Cairo fixing houses that had been damaged and rebuilding houses that had been lost completly and Atem slowly blinked as he took in the damaged city while memories of Zorc's assault ran fresh through his head.

"The city's still going strong, brother...and they have you to lead them." a soft, yet mature voice said from behind him.

Atem blinked and looked over his shoulder to see a male about Yugi's age and height, only with tanned skin, a golden crown on his head similar to Atem's own, a crimson cape draping his shoulders and touching the back of his ankles that were guarded by golden ankle cuffs, golden wrist cuffs and arm cuffs, golden shoulder guards, and a white tunic with a matching kilt that went down to his knees along with a crimson sash that went down the front of his kilt and in the same design as Atem's own, he also had the same shoes on his feet as Atem, "Uh...yes, I suppose..."

The younger male chuckled as he slowly moved over to Atem's side, "You suppose? Come now, brother, don't tell me you're still abit gloomy over what happened. The people need you to move past it in order for their own hearts to be lifted of such weight...no matter how much Zorc has damaged us all."

"...You're right...Heba..." Atem replied softly, using his own voice this time, as he slowly looked forward before his eyes looked back over at the younger male.

The younger male smiled just the way Yugi always did with his eyes closing and slowly looked forward at the kingdom as he placed his hands slowly on the balcony after Atem returned the smile slightly, then Atem silently looked forward as well to take in the sight of the citizens continuing to re-build even in the light of the decended sun upon the horizon that colored the land a fiery orange while providing a sense of warmth and peace and Atem only glanced away from the sight as Heba placed his hand brotherly over Atem's own before the older male slowly turned his hand sideways slightly to gently grip the younger male's hand gently in a brotherly manner. Heba's hand was warm and soft, like Yugi's, and Atem felt a little bit more relaxed than he was during his last vision knowing that he was in his own head, but he was still concerned about what event the Millenium Puzzle was showing him now and before he could register what this event might be, Heba placed a hand to his hand with a suddenly ill-full look on his face and he was on the floor of the balcony before Atem could think to catch him. Atem quickly lowered beside the younger male to discover a feverish look in Heba's violet eyes as Atem carefully gathered Heba into his arms brotherly before quickly standing to rush Heba to the infirmary of the palace and he was instantly met with a palace nurse who instructed Atem in his native language to lie Heba down on the finest bed there was in the infirmary, and Atem did so silently as Heba's breathing slowly became feverish. He then silently sat in a wooden chair at Heba's bed-side as the nurse examined the younger male and Atem silently noticed that the young woman was barely touching him, as if she was repelling against doing so for a reason that Atem couldn't necessarily find in her eyes and this made his eyebrows push together thoughtfully while he continued watching her examine Heba without hardly touching him. She then silently left the room without so much as a glance towards Atem and Atem silently looked forward at Heba just as the prince was falling asleep, then Atem sighed softly as he closed his eyes and lowered his head only to re-open them to glare slightly at the Millenium Puzzle that glistened tauntingly at him.

"What are you trying to show me...?" Atem said faintly towards the object that gave no response.

Atem then quickly rose his head after remembering Sobkou's words about Heba falling ill with a fever and he looked worriedly at Heba who only continued to sleep in a peaceful manner though his breathing was heavier and slightly faster with the fever developing, then he silently leaned forward to press his elbows onto the matress while his hands folded together under his knees as he stared forward at the stone wall thoughtfully and he took no notice to someone else besides the nurse walking in until he felt a hand on his shoulder which made him look back and up at the owner of that hand. Priest Seto stood behind him at a height of around 6' with a firm, muscular build and a fully matured face that bore his icy blue eyes that were positioned just under his head-dress, his neck baring golden neck braces while the colar of his blue tunic was also golden, his tunic being white and going down to his ankles with a blue sash running down the front and down the back that was in a similar design as Atem's own, a golden waist band keeping his sash in place. His shoes were the same as Atem's and he wore golden arm cuffs, wrist cuffs, and a white cape went down his back from his golden shoulder guards, also baring a golden ankh on his chest. The tall brunette stared down at Atem concernly even as Atem silently reached a hand back to place it over the high priest's own and his blue eyes were then set upon Heba where his concern slowly shifted into worry blended with slight shame in himself, then his eyes slowly closed as he slowly removed his hand from under Atem's to kneel on the floor with his left knee facing Atem and his head bowed respectfully while he muttered an apology. Atem said nothing to this as he waited for Seto to explain his apology, for he had no clue why Seto was apologising even as he picked up the suspicion that it had something to do with Heba.

"I thought he was feeling well enough to be walking around, my Pharaoh...he was acting fine earlier. I didn't think he was going to have a reaction like he had yesterday...I thought he'd gotten over this fever." Seto added softly.

Atem blinked, "Yesterday? How long has Heba been ill?"

Seto looked up at Atem with a look of confusion, "Please tell me you don't mean that, my Pharaoh. I know that you've been occupied with the reconstruction, but surely you have been paying attention to Heba's illness these past four days..."

'Four days? Sobkou said Heba had gotten ill enough to where his darker self took over...is that what the Millenium Puzzle is trying to show me?' Atem thought.

"Nevermind...you've been very busy and I know you don't like seeing your twin brother like this. It's difficult, I understand..." Seto said with a sigh.

"Uh...that's...not entirely true. I only asked because I was making sure that I had the amount of days right that he'd been sick, and...it turns out I was abit off." Atem replied.

Seto slowly stood with another faint sigh, "Sometimes you worry me, cousin, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that you worry me...I thought you falling asleep at the throne was all you worried me about."

"Isn't that your job as my older cousin to worry about me anyway, Seto?" Atem mused with a raised eyebrow.

"That's not all my job requires me to do, cousin, and you know that. I also have to look after you to make sure you're behaving like a Pharaoh...you have to be an example for Heba, you know." Seto said softly while lightly placing a hand over Heba's forehead and ignoring the heat that was being given off.

Atem stared at Heba for awhile silently, then he looked up at Seto, "Seto...can I speak with you out in the hall for a moment?"

"Of course, my Pharaoh." Seto replied while removing his hand from Heba's forehead.

Atem silently stood and exited the room to see the nurse was speaking softly to another in Atem's native language further down the hall, then he looked back and turned slowly as Seto quietly exited the room while he closed the door behind him, "...I feel like something is lingering...like, something is waiting for the right moment..."

""Lingering?" What is lingering, my Pharaoh?" Seto asked.

"I don't know...I just-"

Before Atem could finish his sentence, a large black miasma bursted through the gaps in the door and quickly flooded the hall along with the lungs of both men while the nurses made it quickly down the hall to out-run the miasma even as it quickly filled the entire hallway. Atem covered his mouth area while bracing himself against the wall as he struggled to breathe without coughing from the miasma that continued to linger as a black fog and he looked over to see that Seto was still coughing harshly while also covering his mouth area, then Atem looked forward as a sinister chuckling was faintly heard and Atem could see a pair of crimson glowing eyes beginning to show in the haze of black. Dark Heba slowly appeared from the miasma as some of it was absorbed into his body through his nostrils and his body was that of Heba's height and skin color, along with facial features and eyes and hair, but he was slightly more muscular and his eyes were crimson with snake-like pupils that were vertical instead of round. His wings were bat-like and the tips of the drew-in wings, that were crimson on the inside and black on the outside, touched the ground lightly and his ears were pointed and he also bore a cross-stitch on his back with a stitched line going along his spinal cord and a stitched slash going across his shoulder blades though this mark was unseen because he still wore Heba's clothing. His fingers were clawed along with his toes that were dragon-like and Atem had to keep from cringing at the odd reptilian stape of Dark Heba's legs and the sight of the reptilian tail that swayed back and forth with each slow step he took out of the cloud of miasma, then Atem grunted loudly as he was suddenly lifted in the air only to be slammed against the wall harshly while Dark Heba silently moved over to Seto as the High Priest lay unconscious on the ground and Atem tensed slightly as Dark Heba's eyes were suddenly cast onto him.

"...Oh...it's you...how have you been? I've been really busy...being dead..." Dark Heba said with a sarcastic tone in his voice, his voice being a blend of Yugi's with a metallic voice added on.

The scenery around them suddenly shifted into a wall-less scenery the color of black blended with a bright blue and Atem grunted once more as he was suddenly tossed onto the hardened surface from an unseen force only to force himself to his feet as he glared at Dark Heba, who only stared at him with amusement as his tail swayed with his own amusement, "You're not going to get away with what you've done..."

"Oh? You think a little prophecy is going to ensure that you're going to win this time? I don't think so...in fact, I'm glad that you don't remember anything from when you killed me, and I hope you never do. This time, things are going to end alot differently, I assure you, and by the time this is over with, you'll come to accept things the way that they are going to be. I've had alot of time on my hands since you killed me and I figured now would be a good time to wake up since, well, you know, you have your own body...so, now the events of the past can properly repeat themselves." Dark Heba replied, that same tone in his voice, only now it expressed amusement, as he slowly paced back and forther with his tail slowly swaying in amusement.

"Just you wait, I'll awaken the guardians and put you back in your place! I'll protect my country like I did all those years ago-!"

"Haven't you listened to a single thing Sobkou has said to you? You're just going to die in the end anyhow, so I don't see what the point will be in fighting me over and over again until your pathetic self is left bleeding on the sands of the country that you claim to love so much. Why don't you just surrender now and we'll call it quits? After all, you'll never find all seven guardians in time before I blend myself with the other Alices and use their combined abilities to get my revenge...," Dark Heba mused, then he chuckled faintly, "it's funny. You haven't changed abit and neither has your brother, Yugi. He's still the same weakling he was all those years ago and, this time, I'll do to him what I've done to Heba just to make sure things go smoothly. With him out of the way, I can repeat every sequence perfectly and ensure that my victory will just be a repeat only, now, I can use my new abilities to avert the attack of the guardians and I can then claim this world as my own. I'm also planning on ridding my brother of the one thing that gives him his strength, so that's a plus. You really have no idea who you're dealing with, but I can ensure you that by the time this is all over with, you'll know very well that you can never defeat me entirely."

"We'll see..." Atem growled as his eyes narrowed at Dark Heba.

"Yes, we will see. In the meantime, enjoy your luxurious break from all the information that messenger has taught you. You'll see me again...once I've gained my strength...however, I cannot allow that "thing" around your neck to interfere, so I hope you don't mind the paralysis state you will be in for a little while..." Dark Heba said before he slowly rose his clawed hand and his forefinger twitched to send an electric pulse through Atem's entire body.

Atem barely made a sound as this happened and he remained silent and still as he limply collapsed to the ground.

"When you wake up, you'll be in the comfort zone of your friends...however, you won't be able to speak, nor move, so I'd get comfortable really fast to this feeling and I hope that you don't take it personally, it's just that I can't necessarily have the Millenium Puzzle showing you things that may be harmful to me...that's all." Dark Heba said as Atem slowly slipped into blackness.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Atem awoke with his head resting in Yugi's lap and felt the vibrations of the vehicle as it moved through the sands of Cairo while he silently discovered that he was laying on his back in the back-seat while Kaiba was driving with Mokuba in the passenger-seat, Yugi having a hand brotherly tangled in Atem's tri-colored locks and looking down at him concernly upon Atem opening his eyes only to reveil the slightly hazed-over complexion in the colored part of his eyes. The ex-Pharaoh only closed his eyes without even attempting to speak as Dark Heba's tainted words ran through his head even as Yugi brotherly ran his fingers through Atem's tri-colored locks and he subconsciously frowned to how he was numb to the feeling, the only way he could even tell Yugi was doing so was by opening his eyes and seeing the movement of Yugi's arm. The paralyzed feeling brought up a deep embaressment and anger at himself for allowing himself to be easily taken over like that and he had a funny feeling as to exactly why he allowed Dark Heba to overcome him so easily and this feeling made Atem gain a lump in his throat. Dark Heba was just a more horridified version of Yugi and he could never harm Yugi to save his life...not after he had to fight for forgiveness not only from Yugi for what he had done to him with the Orichalcos card but from himself and Timaeus along with regaining whatever dignity he had lost in that event in losing the one person who would never harm him no matter what. Atem silently re-opened his eyes, the only movement he could manage, to look up at Yugi as the smaller male continued to run his fingers through the ex-Pharaoh's hair subconsciously and he fought to move one of his hands even as it instantly remained un-responsive to his request and this made Yugi slowly stop his combing of Atem's hair as soon as Yugi picked up on Atem's struggle through looking into Atem's eyes.

"Atem...what's wrong?" Yugi asked in a concerned tone, making Kaiba look back at him through the rear-view mirror while Mokuba continued to look out the window.

Atem couldn't even open his mouth to attempt to reply because of his paralysis, but his attempt to say what was wrong with his eyes worked and Yugi frowned slightly in concern for the ex-Pharaoh after he understood the message being transmitted through Atem's eyes. Yugi then took Atem's limp hand into his own and gave it a gentle squeeze while his other hand was still gently resting with it's fingers tangled in Atem's tri-colored locks and Atem's eyes slowly closed with him barely noticing as a warm feeling began to spread through the veins in his hand to the veins in his wrist, continuing on through his arm to his shoulder and to the rest of his body until his entire body was warm on the inside with the feeling of the mental bond that still existed between the soul brothers being initiated. The bond itself was something that Dark Heba could never paralyze and bit-by-bit Atem began to feel the feeling of Yugi's soft, brotherly hand in his own as his senses began to awaken themselves from slumber until he could feel everything from Yugi's hand in his own to the air-conditioning touching his cheek and the comforting feeling of Yugi's fingers tangled in his hair was a blessing. Atem opened his dark-violet eyes to look up at Yugi as the smaller male continued to look down at him with a brotherly concern and he smiled reassuringly as his hand slowly began to grip Yugi's own with the same gentle grip that the smaller male continued delivering to his own hand, then Yugi returned the smile brightly as his hand gripped Atem's abit tighter while he brotherly moved a loose bang from Atem's left eye and Atem saw from the corner of his eye that Kaiba had slowly returned his focus back to driving after seeing the ex-Pharaoh grip Yugi's hand back. Atem then pushed himself into a sitting position beside Yugi on the back-seat of the vehicle while fighting not to faintly groan in the process and Yugi assisted him in adjusting his posture until the ex-Pharaoh was slightly lounging against the back-seat with his head leaned back as his eyes once again closed only to assist in regaining himself.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty." Kaiba said without looking back at Atem through the rear-view mirror.

"How long was I out?" Atem asked softly without opening his eyes, though he wanted to playfully glare at the billionair from the tone that Kaiba delivered, but his mind was still trying to re-adjust itself into proper position.

"A few hours...I kept you from falling onto the floor when you blacked out, but I didn't know you were going to be out this long and I stayed by you for awhile. You still wouldn't wake up for a long while, so I got Kaiba and the others and we got you back in the vehicle to let you sit in the air-conditioning for awhile because we thought it would wake you up a little...but...no luck...so, we just started driving around for abit." Yugi replied.

"Speaking of which, what exactly happened? Last time you blacked out like that, you didn't topple over like a dead corpse." Kaiba asked, again without looking back at the ex-Pharaoh.

"This time was different...Yugi, how long did I go blank until I fell over?" Atem asked as he opened his eyes slightly to look over at his ex-hikari.

"Um...I'd say probably over ten minutes. You wouldn't say anything when I said your name, so I assumed maybe you were stuck in a mind-blank like you usually do." Yugi replied.

"How was this one different?" Kaiba asked, this time looking back at Atem through the rear-view mirror.

"...This time...Dark Heba appeared. The Puzzle showed me the event of Heba falling ill and Dark Heba taking over completly...but...it was as if Dark Heba manipulated the vision and he transported us to some blank dimension. He told me that he was planning on combining his power with that of the other Alices and that it was pointless for me to try and stop him because of some prophecy, but Sobkou never said anything about a prophecy..." Atem replied.

"Maybe the Dreamer said something?" Yugi asked softly.

"I'm not entirely sure, but you may be right. He has the Dreamer in his possession as well, so I believe either the Dreamer said something that freaked Dark Heba out, or maybe there's something written somewhere that tells this part of the story and only Dark Heba knows where it is...I'm not too concerned to go looking for it, though. Right now, we need to focus on finding all seven guardians and awakening them from their slumber to aid us in ending this once and for all." Atem said while closing his eyes slowly.

"What about Atemu? Sobkou said he was another aid in the fight and I think, if it wasn't for him, the seven guardians would've never ended Dark Heba's life." Mokuba added.

"I don't think Dark Heba's all that concerned about his brother because he didn't say anything about Atemu...he just talked about the guardians, but Carina is right. We might need his help as well and the first place we should probably look is the place the battle took place...but, that'll be close to the bottom of our list." Atem replied, his voice getting softer as his eyes remained closed.

"Atem...you're tired...you should rest abit." Yugi said softly.

"You get some sleep, Atem...we'll continue this discussion at the hotel when everyone's well rested." Kaiba said.

Atem nodded and gave no verbal reply as he decended into the darkness of sleep while Yugi pulled him gently against him in a brotherly manner so that Atem had something to rest his head on and Yugi looked out the window thoughtfully as he kept an arm around Atem's broad shoulders. Moments later, the group pulled up in front of the hotel and Kaiba got out of the vehicle only to open the door opposite from Yugi before he carefully put Atem's arm over his shoulders while Yugi got out of the vehicle. The billionair carefully pulled his ex-rival out of the vehicle without disturbing him from sleep and Yugi pulled Atem's other arm over his own shoulders while Mokuba closed the car doors while also locking the doors, then the group of men slowly entered the hotel lobby only to be met with the sight of Rona, Carina, and Cameron sitting together in the lobby as if they'd been waiting for them and Ann tried to fight her way away from Cameron's side to get to Yugi by tugging on her leash and whining loud enough for the manager to turn his head. Yugi quickly had Mokuba take his spot before moving over to Ann and he knelt down as his hands carefully massaged her canine cheeks while he whispered soothingly to her and Kaiba let out a slow sigh with his eyes closed in slight embaressment only to receive a slight glare from his younger brother. Cameron carefully released Ann from her leash and this gave Ann enough leverage to slightly pounce onto Yugi enough to gently send the spikey-haired male onto his back while chuckling as Ann repeatedly licked his face with a happily wagging tail.

"I heard her from your room and she looked so miserable by the window, so I thought she might want to see you..." Cameron said softly while sweat-dropping at Ann's excited behavior and she lightly scratched her cheek in a nervous way.

"Th-That's okay...Ann, stop it! I can't breathe!" Yugi replied in a chuckle as he tossed his head back and forth to try and avoid Ann's tounge.

"...I take it you've never left her by herself..." Kaiba grunted as he tried avoiding the manager's eyes.

"Not by herself, no...well, not for long..." Yugi replied as he gently scratched behind Ann's ears to keep her calm enough for him to speak.

"Yes, well, would you kindly get off the floor and act a little decent so the manager doesn't kill us...?" Kaiba asked.

Yugi rolled his eyes and silently complied to the billionair's request while straightening his clothing, then gently took the offered leash from Cameron and hooked it back onto Ann's collar while he whispered to her for her to behave until they get back to the hotel room at least. The Kaiba brothers then silently followed Yugi back to the hotel room that the two spiker-haired males and Rona were staying in with Atem still limply being supported between them and Atem was laid carefully on his back after his jacket was removed and hung on the coat rack. Kaiba nodded at Mokuba for him to go ahead back to their own hotel room and he remained at Atem's side for a few moments silently while Yugi and Rona stood together by the window with Ann sitting beside her master's legs with her left shoulder lightly leaned on the side of Yugi's right leg as her face was turned to the window, the sunlight giving her fur a fiery color as golden yellow blended with the natural fiery red of her fur and a hazel-like color replaced the natural chocolate-brown color of her eyes. The pod in Rona's arms had expanded slightly and the developing infant inside was exposed faintly in the form of a shadow outline of a human-like infant while she expressed her concerns that this may not be the Sixth Alice if what Sobkou said was true about Atemu still being at rest where the battle took place. This made Yugi quickly look at her before he realised that Rona and Ronald were Alice twins, so it only made sense that Atemu and Heba both be Alices as well...but, they lived maybe over 5,000 years ago in ancient Egypt...they couldn't have been the Dreamer's creations could they?

"Make sure he gets plently of rest and don't let him get out of bed until every bit of exaughstion is out of his system. Last thing I need to worry about besides the hotel manager kicking us out is him trying to put himself in a coma." Kaiba said as he slowly stood to leave the room while Yugi faintly smiled as the old Kaiba began to peak his head out again, but he knew deep down that Kaiba still cared for the ex-Pharaoh wether Atem irritated him to no end or not.

"Will do, Kaiba..." Yugi replied before Kaiba silently closed the door behind him.

"...He sounds different now..." Rona said softly as she looked up at Yugi.

"I guess Atem irritating him and messing with him brought back some of the old Kaiba into his system...Atem has a tendency to bring the true personalities of people back from the dead sometimes. It's an Egyptian thing, I guess." Yugi replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Speaking of which...I always wondered if you and Atem were somehow related...I think it's quite fascinating that you have an ancient ancestor. I just wish he was here to help us out a little with this." Rona said softly.

"Me too...trust me, if I knew how to wake him up, I'd ask him. I think it's my turn to figure out how to fight against Dark Heba...he sure did." Yugi replied.

"Mm...it's just sad that he had to take Atem's place while nobody probably noticed the difference between them...I bet he was real lonely after that, having to take his brother's identity for the sake of the people." Rona added.

"I bet he was happy to...but, I think that, in a way, people knew. Just, maybe Seto knew and the other guardians did, but I think maybe some of the people knew too only they didn't say anything because maybe Heba and Atem both shared the same views on how to rule the kingdom and care for the people of Egypt. That's just my theory though...in a way, Heba was just filling in for his older brother while Atem remained around in spirit for guidance in case Heba ever needed it." Yugi replied.

Rona smiled, "You sound like you'd do the same thing he did...I think that's very brave. I think Ronald would do the same for me, in a way, if anything every happened to me."

Yugi smiled as well, "It's a twin thing..."

Rona giggled and leaned up to gently kiss Yugi's cheek only to kiss his lips instead after Yugi turned his head and the two shared a gentle kiss between them while Yugi slowly pulled her abit closer without causing any harm to the black pod in her arms that Rona was struggling not to drop as Yugi slightly deepened the kiss as his hands slowly and gently ran along her back. Ann slowly moved beside Rona and wedged half of her body between the two to catch the pod on her back gently while gently using her tail for support as she shuffled over to the bed Atem was still sleeping on as Rona instantly responded to the deepened kiss upon feeling the pod being safely taken care of, her arms slowly moving up and around Yugi's neck as their kiss became even deeper. Ann then ducked her head under the covers with the pod safely nested near her at the head of the bed while Yugi lightly brushed the tip of his tounge along Rona's lower lip and he used the opprotunity that arose upon Rona parted her lips to explore Rona's honey-tasting cavern with his tounge that tasted, to her, like cinnamon and vanilla blended together. She tried drowning herself in his taste by exploring his tounge with her own as her arms tightened around his neck slightly and Yugi had to fight himself from groaning in response to this action while his hands slightly flexed against her petite sides, then he made his tounge dance around hers in a loving ballet and Rona moaned faintly as she made her tounge dance with his in perfect unsion. Warmth began escalating between them as their dance of the tounges became faster and more intense as Rona's hands began to tug and clutch on Yugi's clothing while Yugi's hands were doing the same to the dress that framed Rona's petite form perfectly, their breathing becoming unisonly faster and slightly heavier while soft moans were exchanged.

Only seconds passed before Yugi broke the kiss only to sit in the nearby chair with Rona slowly moving onto his lap almost automatically and he carefully assisted her with his hands before the kiss resumed itself from the point it left off as her hands pulled at his white button-up collared shirt that bore nothing underneath, his chest still being slightly muscular even in his more innocent-like form. Her pale, petite hands eagerly explored the newly explored skin as the kiss was slowly broken upon Yugi's head slowly rolling back against the head of the chair with his eyes slowly closing and she watched him do so before her eyes lowered to watch her own fingertips trace the muscles on Yugi's chest and abdomen, even his collarbone that was clearly visible. All the while Yugi purred so faintly that only she could hear and he remained completly relaxed under her touch while letting her do as she pleased with only her fingertips until he heard a deep-voiced groan of exaughstion that made his eyes snap open slightly wider than normal and Rona to turn her head. Atem shifted over onto his side to where his back was facing them without so much as a slight open of his eyes and Yugi let out a faint exhale of relief that sent his head back against the head of the chair, Rona letting out her own faint exhale as her eyes slowly closed and she re-opened them only when Yugi lifted her head to look at her only to share a look of relief blended with a look of slight embaressment to the situation they almost got caught in. Yugi lifted a hand to gently brush his fingertips against the side of her face while faintly smiling and she slowly closed her eyes as she leaned into his palm while her own hand came up to hold his hand there against her cheek.

"Maybe we should put this off for a little while...you know, until we're completly alone and...everything's abit calmer..." Yugi said softly.

Rona opened her eyes slightly to look at him and smiled faintly, "Yeah...I think so too...not really the right time to be...you know."

Yugi chuckled faintly as he gently pulled her closer to where their foreheads touched, "Later on, maybe we can squeeze it into our schedule...right now, it's just..."

"I know. You don't have to explain it if you don't want to." Rona said softly as she pressed her forehead gently against his.

Yugi nodded slightly and slowly removed his forehead from her's only to kiss her forehead lightly while he continued to hold her against him with his arms around her in a secure manner, Rona closing her eyes in response as he did so and nuzzling into his neck afterwards while her arms tightened slightly around him as Yugi's eyes drifted towards the window to watch the lowering sun. Later that night as Yugi slept at Rona's side during the night, Yugi found himself experiencing visions of himself from 5,000 years ago beside Pharaoh Atem from childhood to his young adult years, each vision detailing how close the two brothers were back then and how they were rarely ever apart from one another. The visions then ceased only to be replaced with a vision through bird's eye view of the desert sands that passed by as if Yugi was moving over-head of them until he was shown a temple guarded by tall stone walls that encircled the spherical temple that was guarded at the doors by two tall cat statues carved into stone and Yugi could see a white-furred cat lioness that was three times the size of a normal lioness whose face was hidden by a black mask carved to represent the lioness' true face. The lioness slowly turned to walk into the temple only to have the temple doors close behind her just as Yugi was slowly drifting away from the world of dream until he was suddenly cast into the same scenery Atem had described when Dark Heba broke the vision of the Millenium Puzzle and Yugi slowly pushed himself to his feet as he looked around at his surroundings for any sign of Dark Heba only to find that he was seemingly alone. He slowly relaxed until he felt himself being picked up by an unseen force and he was then hurled across the surrounding area until he hit the hard circular wall that forced a loud grunt from him while a dark metallic chuckle echoed around him as he fought to open his eyes only to foggishly see a dark figure approaching him with disfigured legs and a swaying tail.

"Hello, Heba...you're looking very well. You've been asleep for a long time in that body, haven't you? You just don't remember anything because of a slight concussion I might've given you by accident...sorry for that, by the way." Dark Heba said softly as he stood in front of Yugi, who was being held above Dark Heba against the wall by an un-seeable force.

"Y-You..." Yugi grunted as his vision cleared.

"Yes, it's me...how have you been? You look very healthy...very fit. You've also been sleeping for a long time, Heba...I'm still wondering wether or not you're even inside your reincarnation's body or not, but it doesn't matter because, either way, this whole scenario is going to end alot differently for the both of us." Dark Heba mused as his tail swayed back and forth lazily.

"How do you figure?" Yugi asked as his eyes narrowed at the creature in front of him.

"This time...instead of letting you walk free while your brother kicked the bucket...I'm going to make sure that both of you perish at the end of this. Like I told your older brother, I'm going to be the one that ends up taking over and I'll have peace and harmony by the throat with each second that passes by after you're lives end together. I, the Sixth and Final Alice, will personally see to it that you and your brother spend eternity at each other's sides in the afterlife while I rule over this land...by myself. Those seven guardians you'll be looking for won't be enough to stop me once I have everything in place..." Dark Heba replied.

"Why are you so determined to make other people suffer? Do you even have a valid reason, or are you just power-hungry like every other villain me and Atem have ever faced?" Yugi asked sharply.

"...Why? You want to know why? Why don't you just ask my selfish...ignorant...arrogant...older...brother?" Dark Heba snapped, getting closer and closer to a hiss as he approached the end of his cold-toned question and putting telekenetic pressure on Yugi's throat while he did so until Yugi was desperately searching for the source of the pressure.

Yugi gasped in the air that was granted to him upon Dark Heba releasing him from against the wall and he coughed harshly on hands and knees as Dark Heba slowly moved back away from him with a hiss that Yugi fought not to respond to, his initial response being to shiver, then he slowly lifted his head with slightly hazed-over eyes to see Dark Heba glaring at him coldly as if Yugi said something that initiated a spark in Dark Heba's temper.

"...For the first time in my life, I had a chance to be the bigger sibling...ME! Not him! ME! He left me with mother when I needed him the most without so much as a "Goodbye, baby brother, I'll see you whenever I get my head straight"! YOU have NO idea what it's like to be abandoned by the one person that you were always beside...until he got selfish!" Dark Heba hissed, blood seeping from his tightly clenched fists as his eyes glowed with painful rage.

"So...why take it out on me? Why me and Atem?" Yugi asked softly, trying to keep the sudden tension from his voice.

"Because I wanted to beat him to it...he said he was going straight for the palace when he left, but I guess he failed because I later found out that he'd been sealed away in a chamber underneath the palace that even the King Aknamkadon didn't know about. I thought that if I could get to you, then taking Atem down would be easy, but I wasn't planning on the f***ing Egyptian deities to get involved...nor my older brother. This time, everything is going to be different because I'm changing my stratedgy...and I've got more weapons than I need..." Dark Heba replied as he slowly crossed his arms over his chest.

"And I suppose talking with your brother was out of the question then...?" Yugi asked casually, though he knew it was a mistake when the glare in Dark Heba's eyes became colder.

"..."Talking" was out of the question as soon as he left me without saying a word. Since you're feeling all spunky all of the sudden, why don't we get down to buisness?" Dark Heba asked as he slowly approached Yugi while lowering his arms.

"And what buisness is that?" Yugi asked as he quickly got to his feet so he could move sideways.

Dark Heba said nothing as he suddenly appeared in front of Yugi only to push him harshly against the circular wall once more, but Yugi quickly retaliated by using leverage from the wall to charge himself towards Dark Heba only to hit the ground as the Dark Heba faded into a cloud of black smoke only to repear again where he originally was with eyes glaring down at Yugi in irritation and Yugi let out a loud gasp mixed with a grunt of pain as he was harshly kicked in the abdomen. Yugi covered his abdomen with his arms with his eyes tightly closed in pain and he grunted loudly once more as Dark Heba gave another harsh kick to the center of Yugi's spine that was only hard enough to deepen the agony without paralyzing Yugi even abit. Dark Heba then slowly walked around Yugi only to use his foot to push Yugi onto his back before slowly moving ontop of the trembling male and he took a harsh hold of Yugi's throat with both of his clawed hands, Yugi's hands quickly taking a hold of Dark Heba's wrists as he quickly struggled for air while he struggled to keep his eyes open as he noticed the half-creature slowly lean down so that his face was only a few inches from Yugi's own and he began fighting even further once he noticed Dark Heba's tounge begin to snake it's way out of the half-creature's cavern towards Yugi's. Yugi was once again free to breathe after Dark Heba was harshly thrown off of Yugi and he coughed harshly once more as he turned onto his side while struggling to focus his vision on Dark Heba as the half-creature was slowly staggering to his feet while searching for the assaultant only to freeze in his standing position and Yugi slowly turned his head to see who Dark Heba was looking at. The sight of a 12-year-old looking girl with pale skin and black hair that hid most of her face besides the brightly glowing crimson eyes that matched Heba's perfectly met Yugi's eyes and Yugi could see that her hair was in the same color formation as Atem's, only her hair wasn't spiked at all and it draped over shoulders down to her un-developed chest while running lower down her back also, the girl's body being entirely exposed as bright crimson liquid dripped off the ends of her finger-tips and the tips of each hair strand and running down her body to pool around her pale feet.

"Well, well...looks like my brother might be making himself known abit early..." Dark Heba hissed.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next thing Yugi knew, he quickly awoke to find himself back in the hotel bedroom to find himself still at Rona's side as the sun was just beginning to rise slowly upon the horizon and sun-light began to slowly enter the room through the large window, then he slowly looked over to see Atem sleeping on his side with his back facing Yugi while he had an arm loosely wrapped around Ann's side as she slept with her own back facing Atem and Yugi let out a slow sigh as he slowly looked forward only to lower his head into his uprising hands before running his fingers through his hair deeply to help regain himself. The feeling quickly left him as soon as it came once his hands lowered and his eyes opened to see that the pod had expanded into a large flower part of a rose in full bloom with rose leaves touching the ceiling and the floor and vines that made their own systems on the walls, ceiling, and the floor as well, a large puddle of bright crimson liquid settled into the carpet with foot-prints leading away from it to Yugi's bed-side and another pair of the same foot-prints leading away from the puddle that led over to one of the chairs by the window where the same girl Yugi had seen in the world of dream was sitting with her legs tightly hugged against her chest as she stared blankly out the window. Yugi silently moved off the bed without awakening Rona from her slumber and slowly moved into the bathroom to pull one of the complimentary robs off one of the two hooks before he made his way over to the girl to drape it over her bare, petite form while she remained oblivious to his presence until he began adjusting the robe until it draped over her perfectly once she adjusted her sitting position. Her eyes were crimson around the irises and where the whites of her eyes should be with black slit pupils like Dark Heba's and Yugi could see up-close that she was lean and slender for her age while also being thin and pale, her hair was also slightly a mess and she still had the bright red liquid dripping off of her before it hit the puddle that had developed underneath her. He silently stared down at her for a few more moments before he then slowly moved into the seat near her and the girl silently moved her head so she could look at the sun-rise once more as he did so.

"...Who are you?" Yugi asked softly.

"...I have no name..." she replied in a blank, though soft and gentle voice.

"Are you an Alice?" Yugi asked.

"...No...not an Alice...I was created by one, I know that...but, no...I'm not an Alice..." she replied without making eye-contact still.

"...I want to thank you...for saving me from Dark Heba. If you didn't show up, I don't know what he would've done, so...thanks. I appreciate it." Yugi said softly.

The girl slowly looked over at him with her mouth remaining frozen in a flat line, "...Your welcome..."

Yugi nodded at her silently before looking over towards Atem as the ex-Pharaoh shifted slightly on the bed and he watched his former other-half slowly sit up with a faint tired groan, then Atem silently rubbed his eyes to try and get more of the sleep out of his system before he looked over towards Yugi and the girl and he blinked rapidly seeing her prior to his focus going towards the large rose-shaped structure on the wall. The girl slowly pulled the robe closer around her form upon Atem focusing his sights on her and her crimson eyes slowly fell to the floor without her saying a word even as Atem questioned her presence, to which Yugi silently pointed to the structure on the wall that shared the same color as the pod Rona had held to her chest and the liquid leading towards where the girl sat was also a hint. Atem slowly stood from the bed to make his way over beside her and she silently lifted her head to look up at the ex-Pharaoh with her naturally crimson eyes only to slowly lower them back to the ground when Atem only gave a blank stare in response while she adjusted her position slightly without disturbing the robe. Atem then slowly knelt down beside her while still looking at her silently and she silently shifted her eyes towards him as he did so without making another movement or making a sound, then she tensed slightly as Atem slowly rose back into a standing position before slowly relaxing herself after Atem placed a hand on her damp head to reassure her that he wasn't going to harm her and she slowly slid her feet from the seating cushion of the chair onto the carpet to sit normally while still keeping the robe tight around her form. Her legs and arms were the most thinly parts of her, everything else was thin as well, but a normal kind of thin than her limbs were.

"...I think maybe she needs a bath before we start asking her questions." Atem said softly as his hand remained unmoving on her head.

Yugi nodded and slowly stood to offer his hand to the girl who only stared at it for a few moments before she hesitantly placed her pale, petite hand in his and Yugi instantly was transported from the hotel room to a dark chamber with a shadowed figure hanging by his wrists that were tightly held by black chains as he was held against a metallic wall, the figure looking like Atem except for the oddly shaped legs, clawed fingers and toes, a tail limply hanging between the figure's legs, and Yugi could barely see the cross mark on the figure's frontal body that indicated he'd been stitched up before being chained up. A deep voice with a metallic tone to it said softly in the shadows, "She is my only hope in helping you...protect her with your life, so that I may see through her eyes what had occured all those years ago...my Kesi..." as Yugi silently and very slowly approached the figure before being sent back to the hotel room as the girl slowly removed her hand from his while looking up at him as if she'd done something wrong. Yugi looked around to make sure he was entirely back before his eyes met Atem's own that were staring at him concernly and he then looked forward at the girl as she shuffled past Atem quickly towards the bathroom only to shut the door gently behind her and lock it, then Yugi slowly looked at Atem as Atem looked at him once more after seeing the girl shut the door behind her and he quietly explained what he saw and what he'd heard. Atem raised an eyebrow at the description of the chamber and he remembered that, as a young child, he'd gone down into the chamber without his father's permission and he did indeed see a shadowy figure hanging from the wall, but he didn't get a good look at it before his uncle quickly caught him to send him back up to the upper palace and the figure spoke to him without moving an inch, "You will be a god among men..." The two males then looked at the bathroom door after hearing the sound of rushing water and Yugi sighed softly as he slowly sat back down in the chair while Atem laid his jacket over the chair the girl was sitting in before sitting down near Yugi.

"...He said "my Kesi"...I bet that's her name. Kesi." Yugi said softly while looking over at Atem.

"Kesi..."born of a troubled father"..." Atem replied softly.

"What makes Atemu troubled?" Yugi asked while tilting his head slightly.

"Well, think about his situation. He's chained up against a wall somewhere under the palace and his twin brother is out there trying to take over the world while still probably having a grudge against him for killing him in the end of the first encounter." Atem replied while folding his hands together as he leaned forward slightly with his elbows pressing into his things slightly.

"...What do we do? Atemu is right under the palace...the seven guardians are scattered about the desert...and in order to fully understand what's going on, we need to go all the way to the Valley of The Kings to find their mom." Yugi said with a soft sigh.

"...He said that he was going to use her to see through her eyes in order to help us...I bet he has his own plan. Maybe we should just split up into two groups, one group could go find their mother and the other can start the search for the seven guardians." Atem suggested.

"Yeah, but how do we determine whose going with who?" Yugi asked.

"...I'm still thinking about that..." Atem replied as he rubbed the back of his neck slightly.

Yugi rolled his eyes slightly without noticing the sound of rushing water silencing and Atem looked over towards the bathroom to see the girl walk out of the bathroom with the robe hanging off her form as she held it closed with her hands, then she slowly shifted her eyes towards the two men that were now both staring at her and she blinked slowly as Atem beckoned her over silently with a hand motion. She silently complied without removing her hands from the robe, even though the robe hung off of her enough to hide her bare form on it's own, and slowly and hesitantly took Atem's offered hand with her own. He saw nothing until she tightened her grip on his hand slightly and he was sent into a blackened atmosphere that appeared to contain nothing until he turned himself around to see an aquarium-like structure filled with a glowing bright-crimson liquid inside that gave off a dim light, then he slowly approached the aquarium-like structure as a deep, slightly metallic voice spoke to him from the shadows, "You've been sleeping for a very long time, Atem...you and Heba both...you both need to wake up before time runs out...". Atem looked around for the source of the voice only to find no-one and he slowly looked forward to find that the aquarium-structure was slowly cracking before the glass gave out and the crimson liquid consumed Atem before he could even think to escape the rushing flow, then he found himself floating in an ocean of crimson liquid with his hands over his mouth and nose area as his breath was held and he opened his eyes to find that he could breath without the liquid seeping through his fingers and this led him to slowly remove his hands from his mouth and nose area only to find that he could breath perfectly fine in the sea of liquid. He looked up to see if the sea of liquid had a surface and blinked slowly as he saw not even a sign that there was a surface above the liquid and he then slowly looked down to see what looked like his past self chained to the endless bottom of the large sea of crimson, his cape floating carelessly in the liquid along with his bangs and some of his clothing is seen shifting with the liquid around him while his eyes were closed as if in a sleeping state.

As Atem swam down towards his past-self, the deep metallic voice returned, "As you sleep, he's drowned in a sea of unconsciousness...with every moment you remain alive, he remains clung to your heart without any signs of awakening. You need him as he needs you...you are both one of the same..." Atem kept himself afloat in front of his past-self as he began to tug at the chains keeping his pharaoh-self tightly bound and he then watched as his past self slowly opened his eyes slightly only for Atem to see that the normally power-filled eyes of the leader of Egypt were now hazed over in an endless sleep that remained even if he was awake. He then tugged abit harder on the chains as they slowly loosened by his effort and he managed to loosen them enough to where he could pull his past-self free of the chains, then he wrapped his arms around the limp king of Egypt to keep him close as he began to kick upwards towards the unseeable surface and he felt his past-self slowly begin to grip onto him the higher he got while the deep metallic voice spoke once more, "He is your only chance into awakening the power within you...pray to the sun god and he will give you the strength...awaken the king in you and he will give you the power you need..." Atem then was suddenly sent back to the hotel room and he fell forward on his knees without realising it until Yugi was quickly at his side and he slowly looked up at Yugi before he quickly looked at the girl as she slowly backed away with a look of guilt in her eyes until Atem once again reached for her. She slowly moved towards him without saying a word and shakily reached for his hand once more, drawing it back hesitantly when her hand was only a few centimeters from touching his only to quickly grab onto his hand gently and this sent Atem back to the blackened scenery lying on his back as he felt the dampness of the crimson liquid on his body even though the sea of crimson was gone as if it was never there.

He slowly turned his head to see his past-self lying unconsious beside him and he slowly pushed himself into a sit-up position while he continued staring at his past-self in slight bewilderment, then he slowly reached over to take a gentle hold of his past-self's shoulder before the Millenium Puzzle reacted highly to the contact and this sent Atem back to the hotel room while landing harshly on his back with a faint grunt. Yugi quickly returned to his side while questioning what was happening and Atem looked up at Yugi in a slight daze without noticing that the Millenium Puzzle was still brightly glowing as the Eye of Ujat was clearly visible on his forehead. The girl slowly walked over to his other side before slowly lowering beside him and she slowly lifted a pale hand that approached the eye on Atem's forehead only for the tip of her forefinger to press gently into the eye, this making Atem's eyes widen as he felt a surge of energy rush through him like the raging Nile and his skin slowly darkened into an Egyptian-born tan while flashes of memories he didn't remember before flashed quickly before his eyes. Atem slowly blinked his eyes as his vision began to blur just as she pulled her finger away from his forehead and he faintly heard Kaiba's voice just as his vision begn to fill with blackness and he felt himself drift into unconsciousness while the voices slowly faded into silence. Yugi looked up from Atem as Kaiba quickly lowered on the other side of Atem to examine him while Mokuba stood a distance behind along with the Ambrosia sibings and he could see Rona among them with her hand holding Ann's collar to keep her back, then he looked over towards the girl to see that she was standing by the window with her eyes blankly staring out at the desert sands and he slowly stood to move over behind her before slowly placing his hands on her shoulders.

"...Kesi...is he still there...?" Yugi asked softly.

"...Not for long..." the girl replied, her eyes staring at the palace.

Yugi looked up towards the palace before looking over his shoulder as Kaiba moved Atem onto the bed with Mokuba's assistance and he slowly moved Kesi over to the chair he was sitting in without touching her skin while Rona slowly moved to his side with Ann instantly pressing herself into the back of his legs, then he slowly looked over once more towards Atem to see Kaiba was now sitting beside Atem on the bed while Mokuba was standing behind him and Carina stood beside the younger Kaiba with her older siblings remaining beside the door. He slowly sighed as he lowered his head slightly with his eyes now looking at the top of Kesi's head and Yugi could see that her scalp was as pale as the rest of her skin and Rona gently placed a hand on his arm to make him look at her only to receive a reassuring kiss to her cheek while Yugi said nothing. Kesi then began to sing softly to herself while Yugi slowly put his arm around Rona as they slowly made their way behind Kaiba and Ann silently followed only to climb onto the bed to lay down on the other side of Atem with her head gently laying down upon Atem's slow moving abdomen that rose and fell with his calm breathing. A few moments later, Atem slowly shifted awake to find Kaiba at his side with Yugi and Rona behind him and the older Ambrosia siblings absent and Mokuba behind his older brother as Ann remained at his other side while Kesi remained sitting in the chair with her eyes staring blankly out the window. He slowly sat up with a faint groan until Kaiba stopped him with a gentle hand to his chest and he slowly laid back down on the matress with more faint groans escaping him and Yugi slowly lowered his arm from around Rona to move over to the bedside to kneel down while also putting a hand over one of Atem's now-tanned hands to get Atem to look over at him.

"Atem...what happened? You were fine one minute, then you went blank and started saying these weird things I didn't understand..." Yugi asked as he gripped Atem's hand abit tighter.

"Wh-What was I saying, Yugi?" Atem asked softly, his eyes showing he was still in a slight daze..

"You kept saying "wake up" and you said "I'm awake" a few times in Egyptian..." Yugi replied.

Atem slowly explained what he saw after he held Kesi's hand the first time and the voice he heard, what it said before and after the large fish tank structure cracked and sunk him into a sea of crimson liquid and during when he was pulling his past self towards the seemingly non-existent surface, then what he saw and experienced the second time he held Kesi's hand and all the while Kaiba was staring over at Kesi as she continued to act as if she was guilty of something. Yugi looked over at Kesi to see this and he slowly stood from Atem's side to slowly walk over beside her and he then gently took a hold of her shoulders to silently signal her to stand, Kesi silently obeying with her head slightly lowered so her hair hid most of her face as she walked alongside Yugi over to Atem's bedside and Atem slowly looked over at her to see her crimson eyes avoiding his out of silent shame. The ex-Pharaoh slowly reached up to take a hold of one of her arms over the sleeve only to have her flinch at his touch and slowly relax after he began rubbing the under-side of her arm with his thumb in a slow and gentle manner while he continued staring at her eyes as they reluctantly lifted from the floor to make contact with his and he smiled faintly seeing the shame slowly fade from the crimson orbs. Kesi remained silent as she kept eye-contact with the ex-Pharaoh and he could see feel the presence of another being inside her form just by holding onto the sleeve of the robe she still wore on her pale, petite form without having his Millenium Puzzle do anything, then he slowly released her sleeve while softly saying in Egyptian that he could feel Kesi knows more than beats the eye and Kaiba silently narrowed his eyes at her as if he'd been feeling the same thing all along without telling anyone. Yugi looked over to his side to see Rona staring at Kesi as if she knew along that Kesi was more than what she seemed and he looked back over at the girl to see that Kesi was looking past Atem with a blank expression in her eyes that made Yugi turn his head to see what she was looking at only to find that she was staring towards the hotel room door that was slightly open even though he could've sworn that the door had been closed after the Ambrosia siblings and Mokuba had left.

"...Didn't Mokuba close the door when he left...?" Yugi asked softly.

Kaiba silently looked towards the door only to slowly walk over towards the door while uncrossing his arms and he opened the door abit more to see a folded black dress with a piece of white paper depicting Kesi's name in Egyptian hieroglyphs, then he silently lowered down as he gathered the clothing into his hands and he slowly rose into a standing position while backing into the hotel room before he pushed the door closed with his elbow. The billionair silently made his way over to Kesi with the dress and she slowly turned her head to look down at it, her body slowly turning towards him as she did so and she carefully took the dress from him without making physical contact before walking through the group gathered at Atem's bedside to make her way into the bathroom. While she changed, the group of four discussed who would be going with who after Atem was well enough to leave bed without having a fogged head and blurry vision, Atem needed to go with the group that would start looking for the guardians since his Millenium Puzzle and Ra's grace was the key to guiding him now that he and his past-self were one thanks to Kesi. The group agreed that Yugi, Rona, and Kesi would go to the palace with Carina and Travis to see if Atemu was still there and if he could help them while Atem, Kaiba, Mokuba, and Cameron start looking for the seven guardians and the group would meet up at the Valley of the Kings once the first guardian was awakened and successfully recruited into the group. From there, since there were still holes in the story that maybe even Atemu couldn't fill, the group would attempt into coaxing the mother of the Fifth and Sixth Alices to tell them more of the rivalry between the two siblings while also getting her backstory into all of this.

Kesi slowly emerged from the bathroom in a black dress that went down to her knees and sleeves that would hang off her arms, once they are raised, by five inches before slowly lowering in length further along her arms, the neck of the dress being curved and the material of the dress being a type of fabric meant to perfectly shape Kesi's petite and fragile form without exposing that she was more slender than most girls around her developement stage. Rona slowly approached her only to pull Kesi against her own petite form in a sisterly manner and Kesi silently enveloped her arms around Kesi's waist without saying a word while the single Fourth Alice slowly stroked Kesi's black hair that was now perfectly brushed thanks to the small wooden brush with small metallic extensions coming out of the curved end and Rona could see a clean shine in Kesi's hair now that it was brushed. Atem closed his eyes slowly while saying softly in Egyptian that Atemu was somehow making himself known before he slowly slipped into blackness once more and Yugi slowly took a hold of Atem's hand as he lowered into a kneeling position beside Atem who was now one again unconscious and vulnerable, then Kaiba silently passed Yugi to walk out of the room until Kesi suddenly grabbed onto Kaiba's hand gently and this sent Kaiba into the ancient past onto the balcony of the palace that over-looked the city of Cairo, this making Kaiba look down quickly to look at his hands only to find that he was in his ancient past attire and he slowly lifted his head back up only to slowly turn around after hearing someone softly say his first name. What looked like Yugi only with tan skin and similar royal attire as Atem slowly emerged from the throne room to join Kaiba on the balcony and Kaiba could see that the young male was exaughsted as if he was pushing through with a sickness just by the way he walked out onto the balcony while using the wall as a support until he practically collapsed only to have the seemingly High Priest catch him while worringly saying against his will, "Prince Heba! You shouldn't be out of bed, you're too sick! What will your brother say?" The young male known as Heba slowly lifted his head with a dull smile before he slowly pulled himself away from the taller brunette only to grab onto the edge of the balcony as he quietly reassured the High Priest that he was fine and that he needed to be with his older brother now after having been away from his twin all day.

"Prince Heba...as your cousin and as the High Priest of Egypt, I beg of you to return to your bed. Pharaoh Atem would not allow me to act upon letting you walk around like this. You can't even walk on your own without using something as a support." Kaiba replied through his past-self, though what was coming out wasn't what was going through his head.

"Please, Seto...I want to be with my twin brother more than anything right now. You don't need to tell me that I am ill...but, I need to be with Atem. Please, just tell me where he is and I'll pretend I found him on my own...I won't say a word about you. Please, Seto...cousin..." Heba replied softly in a pleading manner.

"...Heba...you know as well as I do that Atem is no fool..." Kaiba once again replied without truely saying the opposite that was in his head.

"Please...Seto...I promise I won't tell. Just tell me where he is." Heba replied again pleadingly.

Kaiba let out a sigh that wasn't his and reluctantly said, "Alright, my Prince. I know it's difficult for you to be away from your brother for too long...so I will abide and inform you that your brother is on the balcony over-looking the courtyard..."

"Thank you, Seto...I promise to repay you..." Heba said softly as he slowly reached out for his older cousin's hand.

Kaiba slowly took Heba's warm hand into his own subconsciously while replying, "You need not repay me, cousin...I am only doing this out of the good in my heart. Atem may wish to be with you as well since he's been busy with the other affairs around repairing Mother Egypt after Zorc's violent assault..."

Heba slowly walked back into the palace while slowly releasing Kaiba's hand and Kaiba could feel a strange relaxation rush through him after noticing that Heba was walking abit more normal now with the purpose of finding his brother pushing him and Kaiba continued to watch until he was suddenly sent back to the hotel room, his hand ripping from Kesi's as he backed into the bed only to end up in a sitting position with his eyes slightly widened and he stared at the floor silently before quickly looking at his hands to see that he was back in his normal attire. Kesi slowly walked over to stand in front of Kaiba as the shaken billionair looked up from the floor at her and Kaiba grabbed onto the material of her dress only to quickly pull his hand away after seeing the image of Kesi replaced by the hallucination of a young woman that was nude from head-to-toe with her arms over her breasts and her black hair hiding her face as she pulled away fearfully before being replaced by the image of Kesi, who was now a distance from Kaiba and clinging to Rona's dress. Kaiba slowly stood from the bed while rubbing his forehead and he silently left the room with Kesi's crimson eyes following him, then she slowly looked up at Rona to see her looking down at her concerningly before she looked over towards Yugi, who was staring at Kesi with a look of his own concern, and she looked back up at Rona while putting her arms around her waist once more without saying a word. Rona slowly placed her arms around Kesi's petite form and gently ran one hand along her black hair only to find that Kesi now felt colder than normal without showing any signs of much change. Yugi slowly looked down at Atem once more and carefully moved one of the ex-Pharaoh's bangs from his face as he remained deep in the blackness of unconsciousness while Atem remained unresponsive entirely and the smaller male let out a slow sigh as his head slowly turned towards the window to look out at the daylight covering Egypt in it's golden embrace.

"...I have a feeling there's someone else that's involved in all of this...probably more than we know..." Yugi said faintly with Ann staring at him as he spoke and giving a doggish snort in agreement.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Moments later, Atem found himself in one of the vehicles sitting in the back-seat with Cameron while Kaiba and Mokuba sat in the front and passenger seats and he looked around slowly before quickly looking down as Cameron placed a hand over his that was resting on the seat as she softly explained that he'd been in a daze since he'd awaken from his sleep and he slowly closed his eyes with a slow sigh. Kaiba then further explained that he'd said the prayer already before they left as soon as they were out of the hotel with Yugi on his right arm and Mokuba on his left to walk him out and Atem slowly put two fingers to his temple of the hand Cameron wasn't holding while fighting to remember the dazed state he was in only to find he had no memory of it at all. It hit him when Mokuba said that he'd been holding Kesi's hand the whole walk out of the room and down the hall until he almost fell over on the stairs, then he slowly pulled his fingers from his temple to look at his palm to find that it was painted as crimson as the liquid he saw in the hallucination Kesi put him through to find his past-self and he quickly turned his head away from his palm to look at Cameron at the sound of his name being softly said to find she was staring at him concernly. He smiled at her as much as he could in a reassuring manner only to have it slowly fade once his attention was fixed once again on his palm to discover that the crimson painted on his hand had vanished and he slowly closed his hand while putting his forehead to his knuckles and his eyes slowly closed to let the memory of him and Kesi walking down the hall hand-in-hand, the feeling of Kesi's cold hand in his bringing the icey sting of corpse-cold skin against his own to his hand just by the memory and this made him shiver slightly without his brain even thinking to try and stop it so that Cameron could stop worrying about him and so his mind could stay cler for the task about to come. Atem was brought out of his thoughts when the vehicle suddenly stopped and he looked around slightly before his eyes met Cameron's as she rubbed his hand concernly only to receive another fake reassuring smile by the ex-Pharaoh and he then slowly opened the vehicle door on his side to get out to see that the vehicle had stopped in front of a temple of stone that was walled by a spherical wall instead of a rectangular wall and the temple itself was round with an open ceiling while being adorned with two cat statues at the entrance that were the same height as the building and had one paw each raised.

"I guess this is it...your puzzle was pointing this way at the hotel..." Kaiba said softly as he stared up at the wall surrounding the temple.

"How do we get in?" Cameron asked as she slowly walked up beside Kaiba with Mokuba behind her.

"Let Atem do it...he needs something to do to clear his head anyway." Kaiba replied, his head turning towards Atem while the ex-Pharaoh slowly approached the stone walls.

Atem closed his eyes as he drew in a deep breath once standing in front of the two entrance doors of the wall and slowly opened them as his Millenium Puzzle glowed brightly with the Eye of Ujat presenting itself on his forehead, this triggering a reaction in the wall as it slowly dipped into the ground like falling sand all around until the entire circular wall vanished and the Puzzle slowly calmed itself and the eye slowly vanished from Atem's forehead as the temple doors shook the earth with their opening. He slowly looked back at the group to see Cameron staring at him in slight-shock while the Kaiba brothers remained calm as if they expected something like this from the past presentations of the Puzzle's power and he slowly looked forward to approach the temple with the group silently following once he began walking forward. The inside of the temple looked aged with columns a few feet from one another in a perfect circle along the opened ceiling while the walls of the temple had been carved in with ancient Egyptian text, the floors being stone and with rectangular stone tiles and in the center stood a stone statue of a lioness three times the size of a regular lioness in a battle-like stance and mouth open in a frozen roar. He remembered his father telling him about the Egyptian Gods when he was younger, Bastet was the solar goddess and the protector of the Pharaohs and was mostly represented in Egyptian scriptures as a domestic cat or a lioness, or a graceful woman wearing a black lioness mask. Atem slowly walked forward with the group closely behind until a rumble in the ground made them all come to a sudden halt and he slowly looked around to find the source of the sudden tremor, then a loud metallic roar erupted from an unknown source and Guardian of the Throne Room landed in the center of the room in front of lioness statue with a rumbling metallic growl of threat while the missle launcher on it's back slowly lowered into position and the heat-seeking missles snapped into position.

"Guardian of the Throne Room? What's he doing here?" Kaiba asked before quickly pulling Mokuba out of the way of a missle attack while Cameron and Atem moved to the other side.

Atem looked at his left arm as his duel disk appeared on his arm in a golden flash and he quickly looked back up at the threatening monster to move himself out of the way of another missle attack before drawing a card from his deck that was already in place to see that he'd drawn Dark Magician Girl while he thought to himself that Guardian of the Throne Room was a four-star monster and she was a six-star, more than enough to take care of the beast. He then carefully placed her over a summoning slot and looked forward as the female spellcaster appeared in a golden light before opening her bright-green eyes with an exciting smile that went back towards Atem and he returned the smile with an encouraging nod, then Dark Magician Girl looked forward at the Guardian monster as he fixed his missles on her. He then ordered her to attack and she instantly complied, releasing a bright pink orb of her magical energy right at the Guardian's metallic face from the tip of her sceptor and Guardian of the Throne Room released a metallic roar of pain before bursting in a fiery explosion that rumbled the entire temple and Atem covered his face with his arms to keep from inhaling the smoke while the group did the same until the smoke slowly vanished on it's own. The ex-Pharaoh slowly lowered his arms from his face upon a gentle tap to one of his arms and was met by the face of Dark Magician Girl as she hovered in front of him with a look of concern until she saw that he was alright and un-harmed, this making her smile brightly and she slowly vanished in a flurry of pink-colored sparkles that drifted upward after he thanked her for her service and the sparkles slowly vanished once they reached the ceiling after she'd completely vanished. Atem then looked over to see that the group was alright and slowly looked forward at the statue of the lioness before taking a gentle hold of his Puzzle to position the eye presented on the face of the Puzzle close to the statue's stone head and this made the statue begin to glow a bright glow through the Egyptian scriptures carved into's body while the Eye of Ujat appeared on the lioness' forehead even after Atem pulled his Puzzle away.

"Hark the heavens, space, and stars...I am awakened by my faithful Pharaoh..." a heavenly female voice spoke as the stone began to crack and a golden lights sprung free from under the stone.

The stone then suddenly fell broken to the floor of the temple and the lioness let out a powerful roar that shook the entire temple as her furr glowed a heavenly gold in the presence of Ra's golden embrace while her head was risen to the heavens, then she slowly lowered her head as her roar ceased and Atem, Seto, Mokuba, and Cameron slowly lowered into a kneel with their left legs forward, to which the lioness slowly bowed her head back before slowly lowering it as Atem and the group slowly rose from the temple floor. The lioness proudly introduced herself as the Solar Goddess Bastet, protector of the Pharaohs, that is, until she was sealed away after the battle against Heba that left her and her six comrads in stone prisons while the rest of the protectors of Egypt remained with their duties as the seven guardians chosen to protect Mother Egypt slept in stone slumbers. When Atem questioned why she and her brethern were sealed away, Bastet replied that she and her comrads were weakened by the battle so much that they had no choice but to lock themselves away in stone prisons to regain their strength over the years for when they were needed once more in case Dark Heba ever rose his head again and she slowly lowered her head as she went on to say that they had no other decision to go on. Bastet slowly stepped down from her pedastal while expressing her joy to see how much Atem had changed since the last time she'd seen him 5,000 years ago and that she could faintly remember how small he was the first day he was born and presented to his people as the heir to the throne under King Aknamkadon, to which Atem rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he replied that he wasn't sure if the memories of his childhood were all complete and Bastet sadly agreed with him as she stood in front of him with her fiery gold eyes expressing her sympathy for the ex-Pharaoh. Bastet then turned her attention to Kaiba and slowly made her way towards him in a slow, womanly stride even though she was in her lioness form.

"Well, well...the great High Priest of Egypt is in my presence as well. How have you been, Seto? I haven't seen you since the battle..." Bastet said softly.

"It's Kaiba now, your Holyness. And I've been doing fine." Kaiba replied with his arms crossed.

"I see...well then," Bastet slowly closed her eyes as she slowly turned back towards Atem and slowly opened her eyes to look at him, "we have six more guardians to awaken. So...let's get to it."

Meanwhile, Kesi slowly led Yugi, Travis, Carina, and Rona through the palace until she found the door to the underground chamber in the palace dungeons and she slowly lowered onto her knees on the stone floor of the dungeon while running her hand over the door that led into the underground chamber as her eyes slowly closed. Kesi then slowly opened his eyes as the door slowly creaked open and she slowly stood to lead the group down the stone steps into the darkened underground corridor that seemed to go on for miles and Rona slowly clung to Yugi's left arm as they continued to follow the girl through the corridor whose only light came from the torches on the walls and even that wasn't enough. The corridor led them to a large rectangular chamber that was lit highly with multiple torches along the walls while small shadows gathered behind the large columns that reached from the ground to the ceiling and in the center of the chamber was a large stone wall that stood out, the body of a tanned male about Atem's height and muscle structure hanging on the wall by his wrists, the only thing seperating him from Atem being his oddly shaped legs, reptilian tail, clawed toes and fingers, and the cross stitch on his front with a long line going down from his collar bone to his waist line and another going across his chest bone. Kesi rushed forward up the steps to hug onto the motionless man whose face was shadowed other than his nose and mouth area and she began to softly cry as she tightened her hold on the stilled figure that wouldn't respond to her until she began to plead for him to wake up, the man struggling to speak her name in a pained voice that was filled with exaughstion and slight agony that made her look up at him quickly with concern in her crimson eyes. Yugi looked around the wall the man was chained to to find that there were canopic jars aligned on either side of where the man was kept and he gently broke away from Rona to slowly walk over beside the man and examine some of the jars until he called out to him using his Egyptian name, "Heba."

"Yes?" Yugi asked softly as he slowly stood beside Kesi in front of the trapped man.

The man slowly lifted his head to reveil that his eyes were the same as Kesi's, "I am Atemu...it is a pleasure to meet the...the reincarnation of the Prince of Egypt..."

"You sound like your in agony...are you alright?" Yugi asked concernly.

"I've been sleeping for a very long time...there's only a piece of me that remained with this body of mine...please, Heba...I need you to get me down from here and put my organs back in...I need my heart..." Atemu softly pleaded while looking over at him.

"...I don't think so..." a womanly voice hissed.

"Anthea..." Rona growled as she quickly looked back to see Anthea standing in the entrance of the chamber along with the rest of the group.

"Hello, Rona...I see you didn't get captured like the rest of your flock...no matter, you'll join them soon. But, first, I have some business to take care of and, unfortunately, you're not part of it..." Anthea hissed before Rona was sent flying into a wall by a large snake-like tentacle that slammed itself into Rona's weakest spot, this making Rona limply fall off the wall onto the floor.

Carina quickly unholistered her guns and aimed them at Anthea, "Put your hands in the air and don't move!"

Anthea grinned felinishly as she slowly rose her hands, "...I don't need to..."

Carina and Travis grunted in unison as they suddenly hit against two seperate columns after a powerful swipe from the same tentacle and they slid unconsciously to the floor as the tentacle swung back around to pin Yugi roughly against a wall of the chamber while Anthea slowly walked forward towards Atemu, then she suddenly froze in her place as Kesi got in her path and she screamed slightly as she was suddenly sent across the room into the corridor by a powerful force while Kesi's eyes blankly glared at her through the strands of her hair. Atemu was suddenly freed from his binds and limply landed on his feet that shook to carry his weight as he fought to stand up straight and he panted shakily as he forced a glare towards Anthea, who angrily gathered herself to her feet as the tentacle quickly made it's way towards Kesi for an assault before being stopped and squeezed by an unseen force and this sent Anthea into a painful screaming fit. He slowly slid his hands onto Kesi's petite shoulders while whispering something in Egyptian and she instantly responded by slowly walking over to where Yugi was struggling to stand only to put her hands on his back to heal where Yugi's spine had been fractured from the impact with the wall. Meanwhile, Atemu slowly lifted his hands and the canopic jars slowly lifted into the air on their own to encircle him in a slow, calm rotation as Anthea shakily stood with a painful expression on her face and she glared forward at the half-creature before freezing in place after seeing the canopic jars liquify and the contents inside slowly dissolving to reveil the organs inside that were cleaned on their own, only instead of his lungs being one of the organs, it was his heart that was reveiled as one of the organs and each organ slowly entered Atemu after the cross stitch on his frontal body slowly parted open. Each organ was attached back in it's place by tissue that clung to the organ itself and veins, blood vessels, muscle, etc. were attached while the cross-stitch was slowly put back together on it's own and Atemu opened his eyes quickly to reveil the lively glow that had developed.

"What's the matter, Anthea? You look scared...should I tell my brother you were too chicken to take me out in my prime?" Atemu purred as he pinned Anthea quickly and harshly against the floor and cut the tentacle loose, all with an unseen force Anthea couldn't block.

He slowly stood over the painfully trembling servant of evil and slowly lowered in a crouch while folding his hands together as he slowly swayed his tail back and forth behind him while Kesi slowly moved to his side with a childish glare in her eyes towards Anthea, then Atemu looked up at Kesi before his eyes once again met Anthea's and he slowly reached down to take a hold of her jaw-bone with his fore-finger and thumb in a non-gentle manner as his leg slowly went over to press his knee beside the side of her rib-cage. Anthea struggled for freedom while cursing him with snakish hisses despite the weight being pressed into her frontal body and the grip Atemu had on her jaw-bone and he slowly lowered down until his face was only a few inches from hers as Kesi took fist-fuls of Anthea's head to keep her from butting her head into his even as she fought to try. Kesi looked up at Atemu from her sitting position on her knees above Anthea's head as Atemu lowered even further with his hand parting Anthea's jaws to open her mouth wide enough for his tounge to deeply penetrate and he threateningly gave it a painful grip to warn her that he could easily break her jaw if she dared to try and bite down, Anthea instantly bending and slamming her legs down on the floor as she struggled for air as the intruder dug down into her throat and further still until she felt a slightly paralyzing shock go through her that stilled her heart for seconds on end before the intruder slowly retreated and she was granted breath. Atemu slowly released her jaw with a dark grin on his face and she instantly glared at him only for that glare to instantly vanish as he placed one of her trembling hands to her stomach in a silent message that made her spine run cold and Kesi slowly released her hair to join Atemu in standing from the ground. He then slowly walked away from Anthea while feeling his wrist as it popped from years of being kept in a metallic cuff and Kesi followed closely to take his hand once it lowered to take a hold of her own as Anthea vanished in a black fog that quickly left the chamber with a feeling of shame and humiliation left behind where Anthea once laid.

"What did you do to her?" Yugi asked softly as he stared up at Atemu from his place on the floor with Rona in his arms.

"The same thing my brother tried to do to you, Heba. He wanted to plant an egg in your belly so that it would consume you from the inside out, making you weak enough for him to control. That's what his offspring do...my offspring induce labor on their own accord if the mother is ever harmed or tries to harm it in any way, shape, or form and emerge fully developed dispite how long they've been in the womb...it's a dirty way of raising the middle finger to my younger brother for making me give my life for his arrogance." Atemu replied amusingly as he gently ran his hand along Kesi's head in a fatherly manner.

"...I see...what do you plan on doing with it...?" Yugi asked, though he knew he was probably doing to regret doing so.

Atemu grinned felinishly, a similar way to how Atem goes when he's in a "dangerous" mood, "You let me worry about that, Heba..."

"Why do I already get the feeling this was a bad idea...?" Yugi muttered to himself as he gently opened Rona's dress from the back only to gently put his hand over the mark inked on Rona's side while Atemu and Kesi moved over to Carina and Travis.

"...Yugi..." Rona said softly as she slowly awakened from her paralyzed state only to cling to her boyfriend's neck once she fully sat up in his lap.

"Rona...thank goodness you're alright." Yugi said softly with his arms wrapping around her protectively to hold her close to him.

Yugi slowly opened his eyes to look over Rona's shoulder and saw that Kesi slowly awakened the Ambrosia siblings and Carina was gently examining her guns for any scratches, the memory of Carina telling her life-story running through his head as he saw the worry for the condition of her guns in her eyes and he looked over at Atemu as he busied himself in standing at the entrance of the chamber with his eyes focused down the corridor as if expecting something, or someone, to come. He had a feeling he knew what Atemu was expecting from remembering Anthea brought a beasty friend last time she made an appearance towards the Alices and he looked down at Rona to clear his thoughts while he gently fixed her dress the way it was, then he slowly helped her stand with him and walked with her over to the Ambrosia duo before he looked over once more at Atemu to see that he now had his claws gently entangled in Kesi's hair as she had her arms wrapped around Atemu's waist that was dressed in a slightly torn kilt similar to Atem's own, expect for the black material and the missing sash. Yugi looked at Rona silently while putting a hand to her back and slowly walked over to stand on the other side of Kesi to look down the corridor just as Atemu's were and he slowly looked over to look at Yugi for a moment before his eyes fixed once more down the hall as a grim smile played on his lips while he spoke in Egyptian how he and his brother were never meant to have been seperated, that it was his selfish act of leaving the mother who only wanted her sons to fill the void in her heart that had developed after their father's act of bravery to protect his young that caused the darkness in his brother to develope and it grew after that very mother snapped at him with no warning and by complete accident. That grim smile slowly faded as he gathered Kesi in his arms in a fatherly manner and he went on to say with his eyes closed that his mother held the entire secret of his brother's hatred, Atemu only knew the basis, and Kesi put her arms around Atemu's neck in a daughterly manner while she dug her face into his neck. Yugi looked over at Atemu as he spoke and saw the dim peacefullness in Atemu's eyes from Kesi being in his arms and Atemu slowly closed his eyes once more as he held Kesi even closer to him while softly going on to say that he needed to see his mother as soon as possible before Dark Heba gets to her.

"What would Dark Heba want with your mother?" Yugi asked.

Atemu slowly looked over at Yugi, "My mother is the only one besides me that knows his real name...he wants to erase that part of him, his true identity. She also hides the true purpose of my brother's anger towards me. I want to make amends to her...for everything I've done to her..."

"Well...we were all planning on meeting up at the Valley of the Kings...Hikmat said your mother was hiding out there." Yugi replied.

"Hikmat? The boney creature my brother created from his own flesh? How did he know anything about my mother?" Atemu asked in surprise.

"He really didn't say where he got the information...I'm assuming he found out through Anthea or maybe Dark Heba got close to him." Yugi said in reply.

"I see...heh, Anthea was always one to cause trouble. You know, I bet Sobkou didn't tell you that she was only a developing embryo when my brother went mad." Atemu said softly with a dry chuckle.

"In a pod?" Yugi asked.

Atemu shook his head, "No...she was conceived in the belly of that creature my brother had leashed and tamed to his will. It's male, but it doesn't need a female to carry it's young in order for it's young to be fertilized. Don't ask me how, I'd rather just not ask...the point is, she and that creature of his are bonded as one. She has a physical and mental link, so that she can call it to battle whenever she pleases...the only catch is, Dark Heba pulls the strings when it comes to that bond. He can manipulate the creature into not answering her call if he feels that she can either handle it on her own or if he'd rather not risk it's life, since that creature seems to be the only source of intimidating strength Dark Heba has at his disposal."

"...This is just getting weirder and weirder..." Yugi sighed.

Atemu chuckled and slowly got closer to Yugi while leaning in slightly as a grin developed on his lips, "Trust me, you haven't seen anything until you've met my mother face-to-face...then you can tell me that this s*** is getting weird."

"I'll take your word for it..." Yugi said with a raised eyebrow before he slowly walked over to Rona's side.

Atemu slowly straightened himself as he watched Yugi walk over to Rona, then he silently looked back down the corridor while running a hand up-and-down Kesi's back slowly and in a gentle manner, "...Just hang on abit longer, mother...your oldest child is coming home..."


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

"There it is...home-sweet-home..." Atemu said softly as he stared up at the darkened cave he was birthed within with Kesi in his arms and the girl only slowly removed her head from his shoulder to glance up at the cave only to return her head back to his shoulder without making a sound.

"As soon as Atem and the others get here, we'll hike up." Yugi said softly, standing beside Atemu with his arm around Rona's mid-back with his eyes looking upward at the cave.

"Atem? How is he anyway? I hadn't seem him since the battle." Atemu replied in a slightly surprised tone.

"He's...fine, I suppose. He just got back from the afterlife after he and Anthea had a struggle..." Yugi replied in a slightly awkward tone.

"Anthea? That's...odd...why on earth would she want to bring Atem back from the dead?" Atemu asked.

"I guess Dark Heba wants to repeat everything perfectly, so he had her bring Atem back into the world of the living when me and Hikmat were still attached." Yugi said in reply.

"Hm...he must be desperate to get his butt wooped, though. Atem can do things that he still doesn't know about, and that's not an exaggeration." Atemu said with his eyebrows pushed together slightly.

Yugi raised an eyebrow at him, "Like what?"

Atemu was about to answer when a second Kaiba Corp vehicle slowly pulled up beside the one that was already parked and Travis slowly slid off the hood of the vehicle Yugi's group was inside as the second group got out of their vehicle, Cameron instantly rushing over to Travis only to tackle him to the ground in a tackling embrace with Carina laying herself across Cameron's back and all three of the Ambrosia siblings bursted into playful chuckles and laughs. Atem slowly moved out of the back of the vehicle Kaiba was driving and Yugi slowly moved from Rona's side to rush over towards his elder soul brother before the two embraced one another in a brotherly embrace that had them both chuckling faintly as they held the embrace for a few moments before slowly pulling away from one another, then the two males silently united with the Kaiba brothers and the Ambrosia siblings with Rona standing at Yugi's other side and Atemu standing silently at the other side of Atem with Kesi still silent in his arms. The hike up to the cave along a narrow trail that snaked it's way along the caved wall surrounding the Valley of the Kings was silent as everyone in the group mainly focused on keeping themselves balanced enough to keep from falling over the edge of the trail and Atemu led the way with Kesi piggy-backing on his back with her head resting on the back of his neck and her hands on his shoulders that gripped slightly tighter than before upon the trail getting slightly wider as the group finally saw the cave entrance only a short distance away. He silently set Kesi on her feet on the earthy surface of the entrance as he silently moved into the mouth of the cave with his pointed ears laid back in a slightly threatened manner, the toxic scent of his mother sending chills down his spine that he remembered well from childhood and he could still smell the scent of after-birth from him and his brother's conception, and he silently moved into the darkness that embraced him upon moving deeper into the cave without taking notice of Yugi, Atem, Rona, the Kaiba duo, and the three Ambrosia siblings following behind while Kesi remained close to his side. The cave slowly got wider and wider with every few feet of distance the group traveled into the cave before they were met with a large chamber-like dome in the cave where a large opening in the cave's surface awaited them and Atemu went stiff with a sharp intake of breath at the scent of his mother getting stronger just standing a distance from the opening, this making his clawed fingers curve into a fist and his clawed toes to dig at the ground.

"Is this it? This is what we came to see?" Kaiba asked arrogantly.

"No...she's inside that den...we have to draw her out somehow..." Atemu said softly, trying not to let the others know that he was indeed nervous and not wanting to be here all at the same time.

"How do we do that?" Yugi replied.

"The people who come here just to see her normally draw her out with the scent of blood...it's a joke the kids around here like to play that usually gets them killed, hence the many disappearances..." Atemu replied with a calm, deceptive sway of his tail as he brought his own hand close to his mouth.

"Atemu...what are you doing?" Atem asked.

Atemu bit into his palm without even making a sound and slowly released his hand from his fangs with a dim smile on his face, "She can't resist the smell of her own child's blood...it's a mother's instinct..."

He then silently approached the opening without even a tint of fear left in him and held his bleeding hand out over the mouth of the opening to let drops of his own blood spill into the deep abyss of darkness that consumed it without a word as the blood rapidly continued to fall until the wound closed on it's own accord once Atemu believed he'd spilled enough blood to coax his mother out of hiding, then he quickly moved back from the opening and pulled Kesi away while also warning the others to get back as far as possible as the earth began to violently quake with an angered hissfull roar. A 7' 3" tall creature bursted out of the ground with the upper-half body of a beautiful woman with black mid-back length hair, ebony-colored skin, yellow glowing eyes with no cortexes or irises, or even pupils, femininely slender and voluptuous figure, and breasts hidden by only her black hair that hung low over her breasts to her rib-cage in the front. The other half of the creature was that of a scorpion, 9' in width from where her torso was split to the tip of the curved stinger that was painted an angry crimson while the rest of the armored body was a shiny black and 6' in width, the legs of the scorpion-half of her body pointingly bended at the knees and seem to stab into the ground with each step she took out of her hiding place with each stabbing foot. The creature silently stared at the group as she slowly rose her womanly-half off the ground with an icy glare towards them being given from her glowing eyes until she saw Atemu and the glare slowly softened into slight-disbelief and motherly relief to see that he was alive, then she slowly lowered her womanly-half as much as she could while Atemu silently moved closer to allow one of her clawed hands to move into his hair and he silently closed his eyes to the feeling he had to admit to himself that he missed, though he couldn't bring himself to show it. Her voice was a mixture of a monsterly hiss and a gentle woman's voice as she spoke in Egyptian to Atemu, asking if it was really him, to which Atemu replied in Egyptian that it was indeed him while his eyes slowly opened and he slowly reveiled his bat-like wings that matched his skin color to prove it along with a gentle sway of his reptilian tail. She hesitantly held her thin, slender arms out to him with a motherly pleading look in her eyes and Atemu swalowed a lump in his throat as he slowly moved into them while wrapping his arms around her mid-section that wasn't taken over with the scorpion-half of her body and he had to fight to keep silent as he felt something wet develope on his shoulder.

"My boy...oh, my boy...I'm so glad to see you..." she said softly without loosening her hold on him.

"You too...uh...mom..." Atemu replied awkwardly as he slowly realised what he was doing in front of the others.

"...Don't tell me you're going to act embaressed after I haven't SEEN you for over 5,000 years! You could've at least wrote me a letter before your execution, you UNGRATEFUL BRAT!" the scorpion woman bursted as she harshly shoved Atemu to the ground and crossed her arms with her womanly-half raised to full height.

Atemu sighed heavily as he pulled himself into a sitting position, "You are never happy...are you? You're lucky that I even came to see you, you know. I could've just stayed under the palace and just rotted while my brother continued his reign of terror over Egypt...oh yeah, I could've done that...not to mention my brother would've came here, slaughtered you like a dog, and left you to rot with daddy still buried in the ground underneath you!"

The scorpion woman scowled and quickly un-crossed her arms with a snarl, "How DARE you speak to your mother that way? Do you have any idea what my life was like after you left? I think I deserve a little more respect out of you for carrying you in my body and giving painful child-birth in a hole!"

"Should we get in the middle of this...?" Yugi whispered to Atem in Egyptian.

Atem looked over at Yugi through the corner of his eye with his arms casually crossed, "I think it's best we let them duke it out abit...this is family time for them."

"I just hope it doesn't get ugly..." Rona muttered with her hands on Kesi's shoulders.

"Yeah? You think that's any reason that I need to give you any ounce of respect after keeping father's murder a secret from us for so many years? I came here only to get you to answer their questions, that's it!" Atemu growled as he pulled himself into a standing position and made his way over to his mother in an angered march.

The scorpion woman drew back as if Atemu had threatened to strike her and the look in her eyes shifted from rage to painful hurt in an instant, "...Atemu..."

"Don't "Atemu" me, mom! I knew better...I had to find out about my father's demise from an old man the day of my 18th birthday...the same day you and I got into that arguement, remember? THAT is why I left, and you can't deny it. The only reason my brother stayed behind was because he felt sorry for you, and that's it! You lied to us from day one and I should've known better..." Atemu hissed through his fangs.

"...Fine...you've made your point..." she replied softly with her eyes slowly drifting to the side while her arms slowly crossed themselves over her breasts.

Atemu sharply turned to walk back into the group, "Ask her your questions so we can go..."

Kesi quickly broke away from Rona to follow behind Atemu closely as he silently left the cave and Yugi silently looked forward with Atem to see the scorpion woman lower her womanly-half until it was hovering over the ground without her back having to bend, her eyes closed in silent pain as she did so and she had one hand holding her opposite fore-arm with her scorpion body slowly spreading it's legs to support this position, "...All I ever wanted was to be a good mother...and I couldn't even do that right..."

"Their father was murdered?" Yugi asked as he slowly approached her with Atem trailing behind closely.

"...I'm sorry, young one...but, I must ask what you have to offer before I can give any information about my own children...a "thank you" gift from Anubis for breaking his heart..." she softly replied without opening her eyes.

"...Yugi, let me do this..." Atem said softly.

"What do you mean?" Yugi whispered.

"Hikmat warned me about this and...I think I finally figured out what he meant. Let me...you take the others out and rest for about outside..." Atem replied.

Yugi hesitantly nodded and slowly walked off to the group before they silently left the cave chamber, then Atem silently looked up at the scorpion woman to see that her eyes were now open to look down at him and he could see that her eyelashes over-lapped and extended to where they were visible without drawing too much attention. In the position she was, she was still about 6' 5" over the ex-Pharaoh in height, the extra 5" coming from the scorpion-half with the legs spread to support her, and he had to look up at her to question what her price was in Egyptian, to which she replied that Anubis conditioned her to accept only one thing that Atem would probably refuse if he was anything like his father, King Aknamkadon. Atem gave her a reassuring nod and she slowly closed her eyes as she replied that her price had to be something sensuous while she slowly turned her head away from him, only opening her eyes after she finished her sentence to see Atem's eyes showed that he had expected something along those lines all along, then she slowly slid her hand off her forearm to her abdomen where it slowly slid further down to where her torso was split in half and further down still between the first pair of scorpion legs where it rested there. The ex-king of Egypt silently and slowly lowered into a kneel to see that her hand was covering an opening between the two appendages and he looked up at the scorpion woman to see that she was embaressingly looking away without saying a word even as Atem slowly stood to remove his jacket before he carelessly tossed it to the side. Meanwhile, Yugi, Rona, and the Kaiba brothers met up with Atemu as the half-creature watched Kesi swing on a swing materialized by pure psychic energy that was a blended black and red while it hung by twisted strings of Kesi's own psychic energy that was a dark violet swirling around a a blended black and red strand of Atemu's energy and he himself was lounging upon a large flat-surfaced rock as Kesi was swinging on the psychic energy swing in mid-air over the surface by the cave entrance. He also lazily gave Kesi an occasional push with his tail on the back of the swing to keep her going while he looked forward in thought out at the Valley of the Kings and Kesi sang softly to herself as she continued to swing:

"When will the white lotus, rise up from the Nile?  
>It will rise when sun-god Ra spreads out his golden wings.<p>

When will the white lotus, send it's scent through the wind?  
>When the laughing child-of-twelve plays in the summer sun.<p>

When will the white lotus, dance in the summer air?  
>When the singing child-of-twelve child sleeps in the cold shade.<p>

When will the white lotus, close it's soft petals?  
>When the dying child-of-twelve makes her way to the afterlife."<p>

"Atemu...what was all that about? I thought you missed your mother..." Yugi said softly.

"I did...until she got snooty with me and I figured she deserved whatever I threw at her." Atemu replied without looking at Yugi until Rona suddenly yanked on one of his pointed ears.

"She's your mother! The least you could do is say "I love you, mom!" She was really hurt with what you said and I say you go apologise to her!" Rona said with a narrow glare at the half-creature.

Atemu narrowed his own eyes and pulled his ear free, "Why should I? She started it! And, besides, if she really did care, she'd apologise first for slamming me into the ground..."

Rona frowned and yanked on one of Atemu's golden bangs, "It doesn't matter who started it, Mr. Sixth Alice! You get back in there and you apologise to your mother! You're lucky you even have a mom, my mom was a yellow pod I stayed in for nine months!"

"Would you stop yelling into my ear? And fine, I'll do it!" Atemu growled as he once again pulled himself free.

"You seem like there's something you're not telling us about this whole thing between you and your mother...is there something else?" Kaiba asked.

Atemu went silent for a long while as he stared blankly at the billionair before he silently looked forward at the Valley, "...When I turned 18...I went out into the oasis to cleanse myself so that I wasn't filthy from a kill I'd consumed just minutes before...and, this old man came riding up on an aged stallion with his face hidden by a black cloak...asking me if I was the son of General Hondo, my father's name before he met my mother, to which I replied that I was his eldest son out of a twin pair. He told me he used to work alongside my father before he was sent to war and that he was brought back to the palace with the tales of a scorpion woman that he needed to get back to because she was baring his children. Three days before he was to set out, an assasin ended his journey...stabbed my father in the chest and his body was given over to my mother, who kept his death a secret for so long. We had an arguement, my mother and I and...like any other 18-year-old, I left my mother's cave and never looked back."

"...Something seems fishy about that story..." Yugi said softly.

"Well...maybe His Highness can find out for us if my mother had been lying...just as long as he keeps away from the back-door." Atemu muttered.

"...Wait a minute...she said this whole price thing was a gift from Anubis. How is he involved?" Yugi asked.

"Anubis is the reason she's half-woman, half-scorpion. When she was the daughter of an un-named priest and a slave-girl who had abandoned her at the age of three into the care of a peasant farmer who had no wife to bare his own children with until she was 18-years-old. Her village was built near the remains of Kul Elna, the Devil's Land, as my mother called it, so the land itself was said to be cursed even though the harvest was successful as long as the Nile flooded through the valley every year. No one was surprised that Anubis' army attacked the village and left no trace of life left behind except for my mother, the most beautiful girl in the village, and she was asked for her hand in marriage by the Lord of the Dead himself on her 21st birthday, to which she agreed to only to go into hiding as soon as she was free from his clutches...three years go by, she refuses his proposal, then he turns her into a creature and banishes her to this cave as punishment." Atemu replied.

"...How do you know that Anubis wasn't the one who told you about your father? Atem told me that he had a nasty habit of changing forms..." Yugi said suspiciously.

"...Uh..." Atemu said with his eyes slightly widened and his ears instantly flattened.

"Then you would've said those awful things to your own mother for no reason..." Rona said with her arms sharply crossed.

"...Shut up..." Atemu muttered.

Their heads instantly turned at the sound of the scorpion woman's surprised moan and Atemu sunk his ears impossibly lower with a hand going over his eyes as he muttered, "Oh, Ra..." under his breath, the swing made of his and Kesi's energy blended together coming to a halt and Kesi resultingly fell ontop of Atemu on her back from his energy missing from the blend which resulted in Atemu falling flat on the rock with a loud grunt. Travis slowly moved into the cave only to hide behind a rock big enough to hide him and his cowboy hat in a crouching position and he slowly peaked around the rock to see Atem lying on his back on the cave floor with his head between the half-creature's first pair of legs while the scorpion woman had a hand braced on a cave wall for support with her head lowered so that her hair hid her blissful expression while she had a hand in Atem's own that wasn't occupied against the inside of one of her bent legs, then Travis dashed out of the cave before he could even take a hint as to what Atem was occupied with and ended up face-planting on the ground as soon as he was out of the cave's dark embrace. Cameron silently lowered down to gather Travis' hat that went loose upon his impact with the ground and she gently brushed off any dirt that might have hitched a ride on the accessory before she gently placed it back on her brother's head without a word once he regained himself into a standing position. Carina, out of pure curiosity, moved into the cave with Kaiba following her without her noticing and the two crouched behind the rock as well only to poke their heads over the top of the rock to see the sight that had sent Travis running, Carina's eyes widening to the size of saucers and Kaiba's doing the same while he also stiffened at the presence of a slightly intrigued feeling that consumed his core against his will at the position Atem had himself in. The female Werewolf turned to leave the cave back the way she came until she quickly bumped into Kaiba and this sent Kaiba backwards onto his rear end since he was in a crouch while Carina had to brace herself on the cave floor to keep herself from ramming into his chest as he caught himself on his knees, then she opened her tightly closed eyes to see that her head was inches from Kaiba's mid-section and she quickly raised her head to see Kaiba staring down at her with slightly widened eyes.

The youngest Ambrosia sibling blinked her eyes slowly at Kaiba without saying a word and glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the scorpion woman's moaning getting louder before she turned her head back around to look at Kaiba only to be met with his lips quickly pressing against hers which she responded to by pressing her lips to his deeply and instantly rough, this sending Kaiba on his back on the cave floor with his hands on her sides as he returned the instantly rough kiss that had them both moaning softly and Carina eagerly ran her hungry tounge along Kaiba's bottom lip to silently ask for access. Kaiba granted her that access by parting his lips slightly only enough to where she could push through and he had to fight himself not to let his eyes roll back into his head behind his closed eye-lids as Carina over-powered his tounge easily with her own along with his entire cavern. Carina broke the deep, rough kiss a few minutes later and panted softly as she looked over her shoulder to the sound of the scorpion woman's moans becoming desperate screams before she slowly looked down at Kaiba while carefully pushing herself into a sitting position ontop of him with him moving slowly up onto his elbows to support him. She then she slowly lowered to where her body lay between Kaiba's evenly spread legs while her canines began to tug at his black turtle-neck to pull it up and exposed Kaiba's muscular chest and abdomen to the cold air of the cave and this sent him shivering slightly until she slid her body slowly over ontop of him with a caninish growl rumbling in her throat of rising heat. The billionair rolled his head back with the action and his legs gave a slight jerk in response to Carina pressing one of her gun holisters purposely into the weak-spot between his legs, this making his head sharply turn with a louder moan that barely even compared to how loud the scorpion woman was getting by the minute and Carina took the chance to place a rough assault on his neck, canines and all, while pushing him roughly down to the cave floor as Kaiba bit back the even louder moans that wanted to escape him while he took a gentle hold of the hair on the back of Carina's head that grew abit tighter as he felt her bite down without breaking the skin.

"...You're a filthy little mutt, you know that...?" Kaiba purred before letting out a loud gasp mixed with a delightful grunt as Carina dug the holister deeper into the forbidden region between Kaiba's legs in response.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Meanwhile, Kesi sat quietly in Atemu's lap as he carefully ran his claws downward through her hair in a brushing manner while he stared over her head at the silent Valley of fallen kings and he listened to the sound of Kesi's lullaby along with trying to drown out the sounds his mother as making within the domain of her cave, Yugi and Rona sitting a few feet from him with Rona sitting in Yugi's lap and Yugi sitting against the earthy wall while his arms were protectively wrapped around her waist. The eldest Ambrosia sibling, Travis, was busy telling the family's history to the younger Kaiba brother while Cameron was staring off into the distance over the side of the cliff side with a look on her face that said she could smell her own sister's heat from where she was leaned against a large boulder and Travis tried ignoring the tension being given off from the mid-sibling while also acting as if he didn't smell anything. Atemu suddenly snapped his ears upward and slowly stood up with Kesi pressed to his body protectively, his eyes looking back and forth quickly while his nose twitched at a familiur scent that had his tail swaying and jerking threateningly while Yugi and Rona stared at him concernly before they slowly rose to look around as well only to see nothing. Atemu then suddenly and gently dropped Kesi before he was swept off the side of the cliff by an unseen clawed hand and he widely spread his wings just in time to swerve himself away from the rocks below at the right moment, then he looked back up to see a large shadowed, winged creature following him in the air while giving off streams of black smoke and eyes glowing crimson with the intent to kill and he grinned as he slowly turned his focus forward before sharply rising into the air with the creature following closely behind. The creature opened it's jaws to form a sphere of crimson energy that gave off black electric sparks and Atemu quickly turned in mid-air to face the creature as he quickly brought both hands forward to form a black ball of his own energy that gave off crimson sparks of electricity and he then released it with streams of black energy tailing it as it collided with the energy ball still lodged between the creatures jaws, then he quickly took the chance to dive himself between the creature's open jaws that closed bleedingly and the creature lowered to the sacred Valley with a satisfied rumble in his throat.

Rona put both hands over her mouth in disbelief while Yugi slowly put an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer and he looked over to see Travis slowly remove his hat, Cameron put a hand on her chest, and Mokuba just stare at the creature in disbelief, then he looked over at Kesi to see that she was staring blankly at the creature with a slow smile developing on her lips and Yugi quickly looked forward after hearing the creature give a rumble of discomfort. The creature slowly lowered his head to stare at his belly and scratched at it with one of it's large clawed hands before widening it's eyes only seconds before releasing a bellowing cry that shook the entire Valley as a large burst of black and crimson blended energy erupted from it's stomach and through it's eyes, mouth, ears, and spinal cord. It fell slowly and limply to the ground with large tremors and blood spilling from where the energy had violently escaped and Rona gasped faintly seeing Atemu struggle out of the inside of the creature, crimson colored liquid covering him from head-to-toe and dripping heavily off wherever it can as he tore off pieces of organ, tissue, muscle, and veins that had stuck to him to try and absorb him from the inside out. He then looked up at the group to wave slightly to send a message that he was okay and looked back at the creature after hearing a rumble only to see the creature lift it's head limply to stare at Atemu with it's eyes missing in it's skull, then the creature spoke in a voice that blended with Dark Heba's and a dark rumbling growl of the creature, "It doesn't have to be this way, brother..."Atemu grinned as he wiped off some of the liquid under his chin only to splash it onto the ground with his clawed fingers and he began chuckling while making his way over in front of the creature's face.

"You're right...Atsu, it doesn't have to be this way. You could go back to being my pitiful little brother begging for attention and I'll go back to what I'm good at and playing dead. You started this from the beginning...and I'm going to be the one to finish it wether you like it or not, Atsu." Atemu hissed, feeling a tingle of enjoyment hearing the Dark Heba give a louder hiss and growl through the throat of the lifeless creature.

"...You killed my best servant...and my other has lived out her purpose now that you've impregnated her. We could be one, brother...just like old times. All you have to do is revive my beast and we'll call it even..." he said softly, the struggle of keeping his temper present.

Atemu slowly smirked to show his fangs, "...How about this? I leave your beasty to rot and be fed to the birds while you continue on with this little plan of yours. Oh, and by the way, that little absorbing trick doesn't work on me anymore, brother. You should know that...we are twins after all~."

"Don't. Test me. Brother!" Atsu growled darkly.

"You want me, Atsu? You want me so badly? Then come out and get me!" Atemu growled with a flap of his wings.

Atsu made a move to consume Atemu using the limp jaws of his servant until the head limply fell before Atemu's feet as the glow quickly left his eyes eyeholes and Atemu huffed in a disappointed manner before turning and flying towards the oasis to wash himself clean of the black liquid in the water, then he lifted his head to see Kesi standing a distance from the water after dunking himself to clean himself completly and he blinked slowly at the presence of black angel-like wings folded behind her that gave off streams of dark-violet energy. He slowly walked out of the water to gather Kesi back into his arms and he fatherly ran his claws into her hair as she hugged him around his neck to bury her face into the crook of his neck while he slowly swayed side-to-side, his tail following the motion subconsciously. Atemu turned his head back towards the cave hearing a loud sudden cry erupt from the cave that shook the earth and he slowly closed his eyes with a disturbed shudder as he figured out what that scream meant, then he slowly sat down underneath a palm tree with Kesi remaining in his arms and stared at the water of the oasis. Meanwhile, Atem slowly sat up from his position on the cave floor while coughing faintly into his hand as the cave rumbled with the scorpion woman's purrs of satisfaction and he slowly opened his eyes feeling a pair of her legs wrap around him from behind as he heard her sensually whisper, "Zira...my name is Zira." He then slowly turned himself towards her as the legs slowly released him and she lowered down slowly so she could hover in front of him by supporting herself with her hands on the ground and some of her scorpion body lifted up a cave wall slightly in the back as Atem struggled to keep his eyes on her face, then he looked left and right as a pair of black tentacles slowly emerged to wrap around his wrists gently and he slowly laid back on the cave floor with his arms going over his head silently while she carefully unclipped his belt before pulling the zipper down so she could pull his pants down only a short distance.

"What do I have to do to get all of my answers?" Atem asked softly as she moved further over him to where her face was slightly past eye-level with his.

"Do your best to please me...and I'll change the rules abit..." Zira replied softly as she positioned her lower-body over his own.

Atem looked down silently just as she lowered her lower-body and his head slowly rolled back as he faintly gasped and groaned while her own head went back with a faint moans escaping her that grew faster the further she went down onto his member, then he slowly opened his eyes to see that the scorpion woman hovering over him was trembling slightly in response to the euphoria and he found that his own breath was shaken from the sensation while he mentally cursed himself for being a virgin. Meanwhile, Kaiba quickly switched positions with Carina so that she was laid on her back on the cave floor and he saw that her eyes were glowing a bright gold as she laid panting softly underneath him in response to her rising heat and he allowed her to push his trench-coat off his body before he slowly pushed her black leather tank top up over her head to toss it carelessly aside. Carina then quickly rose up slightly to roughly kiss the billionair as she pulled up his skin-tight black turtle-neck only to toss it aside with her top and she continued the shortly broken kiss once it was thrown to the side, then she quickly changed positions with him so that she was ontop before she broke the kiss only to un-buckle his pant belt and pull the zipper down and she then pushed his pants down as quickly as she could while he watched with a slightly amused look to how quick she was trying to do so. He had to admit that he wasn't a virgin, though it was a well-kept secret he'd never reveil to the press, and he never had a girl ontop of him that was so eager to get his pants down and he had to take a hold of her hands gently and push them behind her back to push down his own boxers himself just to have a little fun by going teasingly slow until she roughly pushed him back down to do it herself. She only lifted her head for a moment as the faint moans that they had been hearing from the scorpion woman and Atem suddenly and sharply growing louder and louder without a single warning and Kaiba took the opprotunity to take her lips in a slightly rough kiss by sitting up while she was distracted while his hands gently undid her belt and pants only to push them down as much as he could in this position until she lifted her lower-body so he could pull them down further to reveil that she was wearing a black lace thong underneath.

"I didn't take you Ambrosia's for thong-wearers..." Kaiba purred as he gently placed his hands on her exposed rear end to give both cheeks a firm squeeze and he felt a sting of enjoyment hearing her surprised gasp and feeling her hands grip his shoulders in response.

"...Just a tip then...don't ever walk in on my older brother when he's just getting out of bed..." Carina said softly while blushing faintly as she felt Kaiba not even attempt to loosen his grip.

Kaiba looked over his shoulder hearing the scorpion suddenly begin to scream out her pleasure while the only thing he heard out of Atem was rough grunts and harsh groans, then he chuckled faintly as he slowly looked at her again, "We'd better catch up...by the sound of things, Atem's going to try a multi-rounder and I want to catch up before they finish."

"You don't need to ask me twice." Carina growled sensually into his ear before pushing him down once more onto the cave floor.

She then slowly stood over him only to let her pants fall down the rest of the way and she kicked them off without a second thought while Kaiba watched her do so in a slightly sitting position on his elbows, then he slowly sat up all the way after she crooked her finger at him slowly and he slowly ran his hands along the outside of her thighs in a gentle manner. He gently pulled her underwear down past her knees slowly and she silently stepped out of them while keeping her black biker boots on that reached up a little under her knees, much to Kaiba's delight, and he gently pulled one of her legs over his shoulder as she leaned forward slightly to balance herself on the rock that was keeping what Kaiba was preparing to do hidden from sight. Carina then began to moan loudly before covering her mouth quickly from Kaiba instantly beginning to eat out her cunt as she looked at the scorpion woman and Atem to see that he was purposly doing most of the work even from his laying position and she slowly pulled her hand away from her mouth after noticing the scorpion woman's screaming get louder along with Atem's harsh groans being silenced while his grunts grew louder and faster, then she gasped loudly and threw her head back sharply with her claws digging into the rock before her gasp was followed by screams she had to muffle through one of her hands to keep from being noticed, Kaiba's tongue spearing into her vaginal entrance with no sense of hesitation and more skill than she'd imagined. The cave soon shook with the scorpion woman's sudden cry of release a few minutes later and Carina had to fight not to cry out along with her as Kaiba's actions intensified even further, causing her to dig her forehead into the rock with her mouth still covered with her own hand, and she lifted her head slightly only to peak at the two after not picking up a single tint of the scorpion woman's screaming getting any softer before widening her eyes and lowering her head back down as her muffled screams grew even louder as Kaiba's fingers began to roughly massage her cunt while his actions to her entrance grew no gentler. She then let out a sudden loud cry that still didn't compare to the cries that came out of the scorpion woman and she slowly removed her hand from her mouth as she slowly pushed herself off the rock only to find she had no sense of balance until Kaiba took a hold of her legs to keep her straight and still while also pulling her gently onto his lap with her legs crossed around his waist.

Meanwhile...

"So the gods are able to hide themselves in his dueling deck for later use? That's abit of a twist..." Atemu said softly from his place beside Yugi on the rock he'd been lounging on before the beast appeared.

"Yeah, I know. It's not like we have enough gods that are cards in our decks." Yugi replied with a slight roll of his eyes.

"...Speaking of which, where exactly is it? The duel disk, I mean." Atemu asked while looking over at Yugi from Kesi, who was playing Ring-Around-The-Rosie with Rona.

"Probably still in the vehicle he came in. It wasn't on his arm. Kaiba told me all about it before he went missing...speaking of which, where did that billionair stuck-up get to?" Yugi asked while looking around slightly.

"My guess is, he caught Jungle Fever..." Atemu replied while casually looking at his claws.

"Jungle...oh my gosh..." Yugi said softly, covering his eyes when he figured out what Atemu was telling him.

"Mmhm..." Atemu replied softly with a slow non-caring nod.

Yugi slowly lowered his hand and looked at Atemu with a slightly raised eyebrow, "Okay, so tell me something. Why doesn't it bother you that Atem's in there with your own mother...?"

"Because what my mother does in that body-stenched hole in none of my buisness and whatever Atem can get out of her might be useful to all of us, plus I wanted an excuse to lounge around abit and wait for my brother to do something...which he did. My guess is, he'll get desperate enough to where he'll have no choice but to come out of hiding now with his little beasty dead and gone." Atemu replied softly while still looking at his claws as if he was checking to see if he chipped one.

"...You're a very strange man..." Yugi said softly as he sat back against the cliff wall.

"You're not so normal yourself...given the fact that you don't even know who your parents are." Atemu replied while glancing over at the smaller male.

Yugi froze slightly before quickly looking over at him, "H-How did you...?"

"I'm psychic...I'm not proud of it. I can hear your thoughts from a mile away, but my head is like a radio receiver. I can turn it off anytime I want, then turn it back on again if there's something I want to know about the person I'm near...I couldn't help myself from digging around in your head for abit while we came up here and noticed you carry this mental picture with you. A man, a woman, and a very small boy with spiked, tri-colored hair. The man and woman are very well-dressed, but have no faces, whereas the boy's face seems to be very happy and cheerful." Atemu replied before looking over at him slowly.

"...I don't want to talk about that..." Yugi replied softly as he slowly looked forward.

"...H-...Yugi...I'm not going to push you to talk about it. But, if I was you, I'd keep that mental picture safe...Atsu might find out about it-"

"He already did...he knows something that I don't know about my parents, I know he does. He left a message where Hikmat died and he said that I have a deadly symptom...I knew he was talking about my parents because my grandfather never told me anything about them other than the plane crash, like it was some dirty secret he was trying to protect me from." Yugi cut in.

Atemu blinked slowly and looked forward, "...When this is all over...I'll get those answers out of Atsu one way or another."

Yugi slowly looked over at him, "Why would you help me? You barely know me..."

"Because you helped me...you gave me my strength. Had you not showed up at my resting place, Anthea would've done me in right then and there. I thank you for that...and I also think you should know. Better to know than not know, is what I always say." Atemu replied.

"Thanks...speaking of your strength, you said you were able to leave a piece of you in the palace...where's the other piece?" Yugi asked.

"Where the battle ended...I get that final piece, I'll have enough energy to sniff out Atsu...the only thing I'm worried about is if there will be someone waiting there for us..." Atemu replied softly.

"...Do you miss him...?" Yugi asked softly.

Atemu blinked slowly at the quesiton and slowly turned his head towards Yugi after a moment of thinking, "He's my twin...how could I not miss him? The last thing I ever wanted was this hatred to build between us...but, my execution left me paralyzed in the palace chamber. I left because I was angry and needed to burn off some steam, but...I didn't come home because I was spotted by the royal guard of Cairo and shot down by arrows and spears...not my fault I didn't get to make up with Mother that day."

"So, Atsu took it the wrong way, then..." Yugi said softly.

"Atsu is a very strange person, as am I. He says that I left him behind with Mother, when clearly he has no idea how I ended up where I was in such a weak state. At this point, I'm about ready to say that I don't think he even knows why he's so angry at me..." Atemu replied as he looked forward.

"...Blood runs deep..." Yugi said as he looked forward as well.

"Insanity runs deeper in this family..." Atemu said softly as he looked past Yugi at the cave entrance after hearing another cry erupt from the structure only to be followed by erotic screams.

Meanwhile...

Anthea slowly shifted awake from unconsciousness to find herself bound by chains to a stone table with her arms above her head and legs spread wide while she was adorned in a white gown with spaghetti straps and the skirt of the gown only going to her knees, her golden eyes shifting around quickly to find herself in a stone chamber with torches on the walls for light and she snapped her head quickly hearing the stone double doors open before her master walked through them with a 6' 3" tall man following behind him. The man was dressed in a black armor chest back plate, with the armor also shielding his sides and rib-cage, shoulder and arm guards, thigh, knee, and shin guards that also covered the back, and a lower-region guard that covered both back and front with black armored boots to match while also wearing a black hooded cloak that draped down to his ankles with the hood down so that his hard, matured face, icey-blue eyes, and black shoulder-length hair that was flat and had a natural shine to it was left reveiled. The chest plate was sculpted to represent his muscular features that he hid underneath and a black material could be seen in the gaps of the armor underneath the metallic material, and he was also slightly tanned with a dull look in his eyes that said he would obey any command, but Anthea also got the feeling that the man was created from her master's own flesh due to the black heart imprinted on the side of his neck and she knew that this was the creature she had seen in the pod-shaped thing in his bedroom. He said that needed a replacement if something ever happened, she just didn't think that he would go as far as making a servant using only flesh and the Dreamer's way of making an Alice and put it all together to create a mindless puppet. Atsu silently made his way to her side and looked back at the man to send him over by the door before he looked down at her to see that she was staring up at him in disbelief and he gave a sad smile as he slowly ran his clawed hand sympathetically into her hair.

"I'm sorry, Anthea...but, I needed a replacement. You remember me saying that, right? I can't let this little life growing inside of you ruin my plans...and I know just what to do with it, too. But, first, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to...make you acknowledge your termination of employment..." Atsu said softly.

"He's dead...I know it, I felt it! Please, master...I-I'll kill it myself, just don't kill me! Please! I did everything you asked!" Anthea pleaded before being harshly silenced by Atsu putting a hand over her mouth.

"Yes...you did...and I'm very grateful. But...I'm afraid you've ended your own life by letting my brother over-power you so easily..." Atsu replied before slowly removing his hand only to motion the man over to his side.

He silently obeyed only to hand Atsu a steel dagger and Atsu looked it over ponderingly before his eyes met Anthea's pleading ones, then he slowly positioned the dagger against one of her raised arms and cut deeply and quickly without a hint of hesitation and he then slowly pulled his hand away as Anthea's cry of pain was followed shortly by sobs. The sobs instantly silenced as her eyes suddenly widened and she arched her back sharply while screaming painfully before she began to thrash about violently, her screams of pain going on deaf ears to Atsu as he silently watched while she continued to thrash about and he kept his eyes on her stomach the whole time while it grew slowly in size and pulsed with black energy to resemble a rapid heart-beat. She tugged helplessly at the chains keeping her tightly bound between violent thrashings only to find the chains weren't showing any signs of letting go and her screams were getting louder by the minute with the growth of her stomach getting bigger and rounder, then Anthea slowly relaxed and lowered her back while sobbing painfully and weakly only to return to her arched position with a loud cry of agony as blood began to gush out quickly and heavily from between her legs. Atsu silently moved over to the end of the table where her lower regions were in full view as Anthea resumed her violent struggle for freedom and her cries of pain continued to fill the room, soon being mixed with the cries of a newborn creature that Atsu only stared at as it made it's own way out of it's mother and onto the table as if it was already trained to do so. He then silently picked up the infant to cradle it in his arms and he slowly looked at Anthea's lifeless form as she slipped into the blackness that was death before he looked forward with closed eyes while making his way slowly out of the chamber.

"See to it that she's disposed of before she fills the room with after-birth...I have something planned for this...thing that I'm supposed to call a nephew..." Atsu said softly as he passed the man who remained like a statue beside the door.

"Yes, master..." the man replied in a dark, soft voice as he moved towards the lifeless woman on the table.

Atsu then made his way into a large, dark, round chamber where moonlight seeped in through a round opening in the ceiling and he slowly made his way to the center of the chamber only to look around slowly at each and every Alice that was kept bound to steel marbles that were shaped to represent their markings, Scarlet bound by chains to a large steel marble of a heart, Lark chained to a steel diamond, Emerald to a steel club, Ronald a steel heart. The Dreamer was kept chained to a large steel marble of a cloud between Lark and Emerald and he slowly lifted his head at the sound of Atsu approaching him, his eyes instantly becoming focused on the blood-stained infant in Atsu's arms that began to fidget and whine in the absence of it's dead mother while Atsu seemed not to care. The half-creature gave a small grin as he lifted a hand slowly to set a spot-light on the Dreamer with his true form being reveiled, a 5' 8" tall man in a white tuxedo outfit with a light gray undershirt and white tie, white hair flowing down to his shoulders left down with his bangs hanging over his silver-colored eyes slightly, hard mature facial features, and he looked slightly muscular underneath his clothing, much to the Dreamer's dispair especially as Atsu hovered a large mirror in front of him that showed his whole body. He then silently moved back to the center of the chamber and snapped his free fingers to light the room brightly with spotlights on each Alice and himself, then he slowly turned back towards the Dreamer as the mirror vanished and he looked back down at the infant in his arms who only stared back with his brother's crimson eyes that Atsu hated the most. Atsu slowly looked away from the infant at the Dreamer only to smirk when he saw a deep glare in the man's eyes and he slowly walked closer with his tail swaying behind him in a teasing manner.

"What's the matter...Lance...too real for you for once...?" Atsu asked softly in a playful manner.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

The Dreamer widened his eyes slightly in disbelief to the use of his real name and struggled angrily in his binds only to find that they were not showing any signs of letting go, then Atsu gave an amused chuckle as the Dreamer silently shrunk back against the metallic slab he was chained against and he then glared slightly down at the infant in his arms that began to cry out from the absence of a mother figure or it's father while squirming for freedom. He slowly began to pace back-and-forth in a thoughtful manner with the infant still crying in his arms until he could take it no longer and he threw the infant down carelessly to the ground hoping that it would silence the infant only to see it disperse in a cloud of black smoke that vanished as quickly as the infant did. Atsu then began to chuckle faintly into his hand that he covered his face with and it slowly grew into a laugh as that same hand pushed through his hair before snapping to his side at the same time as his laughter ceased and his grin faded, then he slowly looked over his shoulder as his replacement assistant entered the room and he silently stood at Atsu's side with his back erect and arms behind his back. Atsu silently looked back up at the Dreamer to see his own creator hanging where he was bound with his head lowered and eyes closed as if in regret and he made a face of disgust before a single black tentacle shot out from his back only to slap the end of itself against the Dreamer's right cheek, this making the Dreamer's head snap to the side without a sound being made in protest. He crossed his arms with a dark glare towards the Dreamer and rose himself to eye-level with his creator using more tentacles that all sprung from his back with the Dreamer not even making an effort to look at him until the same tentacle that had slapped him forced his head to turn so that his eyes could make contact with Atsu's angrily glowing ones.

"Tell me something, Lance...how does it feel to be stuck in your own nightmare?" Atsu asked hatefully as he gently ran the tentacle along the Dreamer's hair.

"...I knew that I shouldn't have let Anubis poke his nose into your lives..." the Dreamer said softly with his eyes closing slowly in regret.

"...You talk as if you were watching us as we grew...that gets me curious, Dreamer. How were you able to create us both when you yourself are not as old as the pyramids of Egypt?" Atsu asked as he re-positioned himself into a sitting position against his own tentacles.

"You think making my own dreams come to life is my only neat trick? I can bend time and space to my will...just not too many times...I let your mother carry you, my dreams, for nine weeks in her own body only to bring you into the world as true brothers, until the Lord of the Dead got involved and filled Atemu's head with lies..." the Dreamer replied softly.

Atsu chuckled amusingly, "Poor big brother...he still believes the murder lie...I will admit that if Anubis never got involved, maybe Atemu would've never abandoned me with that creature I called my mother."

"Atemu never abandoned you...he was captured by the palace and executed..." the Dreamer replied softly while looking up at Atsu slightly.

"Liar!" Atsu snapped as he roughly slapped a tentacle against the Dreamer's non-bruised cheek, this earning himself a slight painful grunt from the man he called his creator, "See? Look what you made me do!"

"Atsu...you've drowned yourself in hate...and anger...you want to hate Atemu, but you don't know why other than your belief that he abandoned you, when you knew yourself that his body was left at the palace." the Dreamer said softly as Atsu carefully, but non-gently, wiped blood from the edge of his lips.

"That's not the only reason that I hate him. For years, I was always the weaker twin, the fragile brother who needed his big brother's help all the time because mother was never able to leave her f***ing cave because of self-consciousness!" Atsu replied in a hiss as his fists clenched tightly.

(Flashback)

"Mommy! Mommy!" 10-year-old Atsu cried out painfully as he held his bleeding knee from scraping it after falling on the hard surface a distance from the cave entrance.

Zira frowned hearing her child's cries and slowly inched herself towards the cave entrance until she was only centimeters from the sunlight that tried creeping it's way in, then she drew back with a tug at her chest from drawing back from her child as well and she looked down to see 10-year-old Atemu quickly rushing out to answer his brother's cries. He lowered beside his younger brother to lower his head as well and a gentle brotherly kiss to his knee was all it took to heal the wound and he then slowly sat back on his knees to see that Atsu was wiping away the tears of his right eye with the back of his hand until Atemu pulled it away to wipe away the loose tears himself. The brothers then shared a gentle embrace with Atemu soon gathering Atsu into his arms to carry him back inside the cave where Zira was waiting and Atemu set Atsu down for him to rush over to his mother before clinging to one of her scorpion legs, this making her smile in relief and reach down to run her clawed fingers into Atsu's hair. Atemu then felinishly nudged against her other leg for equal attention which she granted by running her other hand into his hair just as gently and the brothers both smiled up widely at her seeing her own smile was as bright as her golden eyes. He then looked over at Atsu and reached over for Atsu to move into his arm and Atsu obediantly did so only to snuggle himself into Atemu's chest brotherly while sniffling faintly from after-math of his crying.

(End Flashback)

"Zira may not have been the best mother...but, she loved you dearly...both of you." the Dreamer said softly.

"Bullshit. Anyway, it doesn't matter now...once I absorb you and your precious other Alices and my own brother, nothing will matter to me anymore other than getting rid of this world and making it my own!" Atsu snapped as he lowered back down to the ground.

"...There's just one problem with your plan..." the Dreamer said to Atsu's turned back.

"Oh? And what's that, Lance?" Atsu replied while looking over his shoulder.

"You and Atemu were meant to live at each other's side as brothers, not enemies. My own dreams turned to nightmares before my own eyes and I did nothing to stop it, I admit it. But, I did make a small adjustment...you absorbing Atemu's power into yourself will threaten your very existence. Mark my words...you'll die if you try." the Dreamer said seriously.

Atsu smirked dryly, "Any other day I would've believed you...but, I wonder if you are truthful or lying through your teeth to keep my brother and your other "children" alive..."

"It'll be your mistake...not mine..." the Dreamer said softly.

Atsu grinned darkly as he walked silently towards the exit and he lifted a hand to snap his fingers before more spotlights were set upon the Alices around the Dreamer, the Alices slowly awakening from the blackness just as Atsu left the chamber and their eyes were all set upon the Dreamer with shock and slight disbelief while his true form remained bare with his head lowered in silent regret. He was then led to the lower chamber of his own palace by his replacement assistant and he silently walked down the corridor of large cells being enclosed with stone walls and one wall of black bars while looking in each one of them at the prisoners being kept in them until he was led into a large stone bedroom with a crimson-sheeted, king-sized bed in the center where Anthea's body lay motionless over the matress sheets made of Egyptian cotton with the crimson-stained white gown still on her body, then he silently crawled onto the matress until he was hovering over her motionless form and he closed his eyes slowly as his tounge slowly snaked it's way out of his own cavern to brush against Anthea's cold, stiff cheek before it slowly retreated. The replacement assistant remained silently by the door with a blank expression even as the sounds of Atsu's fangs tearing violently at Anthea's flesh filled the room along with the sound of blood splattering anywhere it could and he continued watching casually as his master began to chew on the chunk of flesh between his jaws before swallowing it whole with his throat expanding to accept the size of the load. Atsu then continued to tear and rip Anthea's flesh from her bones before swallowing once his mouth was full and his throat continued to expand to accept the size of the load, then he clawed his way into Anthea's digestive system to dig into the organs inside while making sounds of hunger and the assistant continued to watch silently as if he was watching a documentary that peaked his interest. Atsu slowly pulled his head away once the organs inside were in his own digestive system besides the organs hidden in her diaphram and he continued to eat the outer flesh until all that was left was bone, lungs, hair, and heart and he carefully took the heart into his hands while tossing the skeleton aside with an animalistic hiss.

"Sir...what are your orders now that the Alices are awake?" the assistant asked softly, still not even abit disturbed even as Atsu bit into the organ in his hand as if he were biting into an apple.

"I need to build up my strength before I absorb them...I need to keep eating before I even think of starting the process. Plus, I need to get this annoying thing down to a decent size." Atsu replied after swallowing the chunk of heart as he glared down between his legs.

"Do you wish me to bring one of the prisoners that you my desire, master?" the assistant asked.

"Young...beautiful...slender...someone you think is a virgin, Iah, and I don't think I need to explain any further." Atsu replied dully before biting into the heart once more.

"I understand, master..." Iah replied before exiting the bedroom just as Atsu began to hungrily feast on what remained of the heart.

Iah retured a few short moments later with a 19-year-old looking female with black, shoulder-length hair, dark brown eyes, tanned skin, a white dress that was torn along the hem of the skirt that barely went past her slender thighs while also having no sleeves, and a thin hour-glass figure with slightly mature facial features, by the chain between the iron cuffs binding her wrists that she struggled with after seeing Atsu look at her with blood heavily staining most of his face, his neck, chest, hands, and arms along with some of his abdomen. He then tossed her carelessly onto the matress in front of Atsu and she tried to make her escape only to have Atsu yank her back onto the matress with a black tentacle that bound her to matress with her arms over her head while he moved over her easily with Iah holding her legs down to the matress with his hands that kept them slightly spread, then Atsu removed his kilt only to toss it carelessly aside as he stared down at her fear-stricken face with dark intent in his own eyes and he brushed the tips of his claws along her cheek and jaw-bone only to have her turn her head away from him in disgust. Iah turned his his head away silently as Atsu moved in between her legs that he kept spread and he non-regrettingly closed his eyes as the girl's painful screams began to sharply fill the room while being blended with his master's rough animalistic grunts and growls that matched the tempo of the vibrating matress under his knees. He kept his eyes closed to avoid watching his master's actions that increased alongside the girl's screams growing louder by the minute until a sharp cry filled the room with his master's low hiss of release following shortly, then he opened his eyes to see Atsu move out from between her legs and he felt a sting of curiosity as Atsu motioned him to flip the girl over onto her stomach with his hand, which he obediantly did only to see Atsu move over once more with his hands slowly moving along the sides of her tear-stricken face. Iah then turned his head away quickly seeing a snap of his master's hips that sent the girl into a painful screaming fit as the snaps continued through the corner of Iah's eye and the bed once again vibrated with each harsh movement his master wailed onto the girl while Atsu purred and mewled his ecstacy out loud until the girl let out another broken cry that was once again followed by a hiss of release.

"...Now I know why my brother has such a hard time with his reproductive phase..." Atsu growled as he gently ran his claws into the sobbing woman's hair as she trembled underneath him while whimpering as she felt his claws in her hair.

Meanwhile...

"Dreamer? I-Is that you?" Ronald asked softly in disbelief.

"Yes...it is I, young one...the Dreamer. Your creator...and I am truely sorry that I've gotten you all in this situation..." the Dreamer replied softly without meeting their eyes.

"I-I can't see...what does he look like?" Emerald asked desperately, her bandaged eyes preventing her from seeing her master's true form.

"Emerald...you've been cursed with your blindness for long enough...I see now that there is no-one in this world who could love you more than I...I release you from your punishment..." the Dreamer said as he looked over at her.

Emerald gasped softly as her bandages fell from her eyes and she blinked open her emerald-colored eyes before looking around slowly until her eyes fell upon the Dreamer who only looked back down at the floor, then she looked around at their prison and looked back at the Dreamer, "Wh-Where are we?"

"I'm not sure...but, I no longer see why I need to punish you all after I've realised how much you all mean to me. You are all my children, and you've been punished enough. I realise now that the only person who could ever love you enough to break your bonds is me, your creator...I call you my children, yet I considered you failures. I realise now that you are my own dreams and I was foolish enough to think that I could make living dreams that could make a paradise when my own world was corrupted with evil and darkness..." the Dreamer said softly as the bandages of the other Alices slowly fell to the ground in unison.

"...Dreamer...we're sorry...we really are..." Ronald said softly.

"We tried making your paradise..." Scarlet said softly as she lowered her head.

"But, we became corrupted by own inner evil and darkness..." Lark added just as softly.

"We wanted to make you happy...but, instead, we made you dissappointed in us...and, for that, we are sorry..." Emerald added as well, close to tears.

"...You are all forgiven...right now, we need to figure out how to get out of here to help Atemu and the others..." the Dreamer said softly as he rose his head slightly.

The Alices nodded before looking forward slowly in thought and Scarlet narrowed her eyes seeing her sword carelessly stabbed in the ground a distance away from her, then she looked at the Dreamer only to see that he was staring at it too and the weapon began to tremble at the presence of the Dreamer's psychic energy until it was slowly raised out of the ground only to be dropped after he lost his grip from weakness and exaughstion. Scarlet then slowly raised the blade shakily herself and cut her metallic bonds to set herself free before freeing the others only to have her head turn at the sound of approaching footsteps that made her get into a battle position after taking her sword into her hand. Iah slowly walked into the chamber to see the Alices freed from their slabs and he narrowed his eyes angrily while unsheathing his large-bladed sword, the sword being shaped like an endless burning flame, and Scarlet narrowed her own eyes at him threateningly as her own blade gave a crimson aura. She then rushed at him with the blade of her sword pulsing with a heart-shaped aura and their blades colliding with a heart-shaped black aura colliding with her heart-shaped aura and the Dreamer widened his eyes slightly seeing this while leaning on Emerald for supporrt before he carefully removed himself from her side to sneak past Iah as he was busy clashing his sword with Scarlet's own. The first few doors he passed were all filled with black pulsing pods similar to the ones Alices are born within and the Dreamer continued on down the corridor towards Atsu's energy only to be stopped at the stairs leading to the lower chamber by a Hikmat look-alike, only this look-alike had a pulsing collar around his neck and glowing bright crimson eyes.

"I see...he's making clones now..." the Dreamer said softly as he looked over his shoulder to see more of the creatures emerging from the rooms.

"Did you think escaping was going to be that easy, Lance? I'd like to see you try..." the first Hikmat look-alike growled in a voice that was a deep voice blended with a metallic one.

"...Come and get me, then..." the Dreamer beckoned softly.

Meanwhile, Iah released a swarm of black tentacles that prevented the other Alices from interfering as his blade continued to clash and spark against Scarlet's own until he used a skillful move that made the weapon fly out of her hands before he made a swipe at her that she gracefully avoided, then she grinned and leaped into the air only to land a distance from him and she opened her crimson-painted lips while closing her eyes to release a few sirenic notes that made Iah freeze in his place from making a move towards her as his eyes slowly became blank. She then quickly retreived her sword and made a quick dash at Iah only to be dodged once he regained sight of reality and he growled angrily as he grabbed her harshly by the throat to lift her into the air while also constricting her air-ways with her own hands struggling to loosen his once her sword was reluctantly dropped. Scarlet widened her eyes suddenly as Iah rammed his fist into her chest over where her heart-shaped mark was located and she instantly went limp with her eyes slowly closing while she was carelessly dropped onto the floor, then Iah silently made his way over to Ronald who waited until he was close enough for his two golden eyes to glow and Iah stared up at him blankly before being trapped in an illusion of an endless corridor with multiple doorways on each side. Ronald then took his chance to sever the tentacles off of him using yellow rose vines that sprouted out of his side and he landed on the ground with a faint grunt before helping the other two escape as well, soon joining them in rushing over to Scarlet's side as she continued to lay limply on the ground. The two males and one female then looked up hearing approaching footsteps and widened their eyes in unison seeing Atsu enter the room with the Dreamer limply caught in a chokehold by one of his own black tentacles, blood dripping from his chin, from the tips of his golden spikes, and the tips of his fingers onto the floor while the rest ran down his neck, chest, and abdomen to the kilt around his waist where it dripped off the hem.

"...Escaping...are we...?" Atsu said softly with an amused tone.

He then chuckled sinisterly while the three conscious Alices fought to keep their stomachs at the sight of bits of flesh stuck between each of his exposed fangs that glistened with blood and they had no time to react before they were suddenly lifted and harshly pressed back to their metallic slabs where their entire bodies were chained once more and a duo of black tentacles wrapped around their eyes and mouth, then Atsu silently looked up at the Dreamer before carelessly placing him in the same position and he silently walked over to Iah's side afterwards to harshly slap him back into reality with one of his tentacles. The replacement assistant fought to keep his eyes on the ground to avoid looking into Atsu's glaring crimson eyes and he fought not to let out a sigh of relief as his master left his side only to move over to the unsconscious Red Alice before lowering down beside her without a word. He gently brushed his claws against Scarlet's cheek, leaving a crimson trail as he did so, to receive no response from her and he then slowly pulled his hand away as he stood silently while still staring down at her until his eyes sharply went over to Emerald as her faint whimpers caught his pointed ears. Atsu silently walked over in front of the Green Alice to stare up at her blankly in a thoughtful manner and he grinned sinisterly before snapping his fingers for his tentacles and chains to release her without warning only for him to catch her in his arms where she was cuffed and blinded with black tentacles that seperated from Atsu once they were the correct length before he handed her over to Iah while also giving him a warningful look, to which Iah responded with an apologetic bow of his head and Atsu ran a blood-stained hand through his hair in a non-gentle manner to express his forgiveness before he gently pushed his head up. Iah left the room with the whimpering Third Alice in his arms while Atsu silently moved to the center of the room to glare at each of his so-called brethern and he stared the longest at the Dreamer as the white-haired man remained limp and silent in his unconscious state from having used his abilities too long.

"...Bend time and space to your will, eh? Too bad I wore you out, old man...you could've really damaged my plans for you. You're getting older, Lance, and with age comes exaughstion...you're not as young as you used to be, though your appearance says otherwise and your un-willingness to let yourself age with the times really says something. You're nothing but a dream yourself, Lance...a selfish, mysterious, confusing dream...and you'll always be just a dream. But, you'll never become my master until you realise what you are..." Atsu hissed, though he knew Lance couldn't hear him.

He then silently left the chamber to decend where his prisoners were kept only to enter the bedroom where Iah kept the Green Alice laid upon the blood-drenched bed and Atsu silently looked around at all the skeletons he'd left laying about on the floor in their own puddles of blood and tiny bits of flesh, then he silently looked around at the blood-drenched walls and floor and even the ceiling was blood-stained and he silently looked at the Third Alice to see that she was squirming uneasily as if she could smell the decaying bones around her. He slowly walked over to the bed-side while Iah removed the tentacles that blinded Emerald and Atsu slowly moved onto the bed to hover over her as she fearfully looked around at her surroundings before quickly meeting eyes with Atsu's crimson ones that flickered and glistened from the fireplace opposite from the door that gave off the smell of burning flesh. Atsu slowly lifted a clawed finger towards the bridge of her nose only to slowly lower it without touching her face and he left a thin bloody trail from her collarbone to her chest where the claw stopped at the rim of her dress that did anything but hide her clevage she used to be proud of, now she cursed it as he slowly let his claw dip between her breasts under the material of the dress and she fought not to let her breath quicken any further than it was already just being underneath him or for any sounds of protest to escape her for fear that that may be what he wanted her to do. Atsu then slowly reached around with both bloody hands to un-tie the thin laces keeping her dress together until she quickly put her arms around his neck to stop him and she reluctantly kissed his lips deeply only to receive a slow reponse where he also brushed his snake-like tounge against her slightly parted lips, then she hesitantly parted them only to be instantly bombarded with Atsu's tounge quickly wrapping around hers in a non-gentle manner while he also pushed her back down to the matress and she whimpered faintly as he felt his tounge eagerly explore her mouth to take in her addictive taste from her saliva and her own tounge that barely pushed against his. He then slowly broke the kiss with his tounge slowly retracting from her cavern afterwards and he slowly hovered his fangs near her ear while his hand came up to brush the back of his claws against the side of her face as his other hand busied itself in continuing to un-tie the laces on the back of her dress so that nothing was holding it closed.

"I might eat you last..." Atsu purred into her ear as he pulled the material of her dress off her body after he moved out from under her arms that were still wrapped around his neck.

Underneath, she wore an emerald-colored corset with no sleeves that made her clevage all the more present and Atsu looked down to see that the black panty-hose she wore underneath where hooked to the corset along the out-sides of her thighs by metallic clamps and black lace material, then he slowly looked back up to see her staring up at him fearfully as he grinned slowly, "I'm definately eating you last..."


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight

"So, which god is next?" Yugi asked while looking at Atemu while sitting between him and Atem in the back of the vehicle Kaiba is driving.

"Sobek...God of the Nile. The order that the Millenium Puzzle is pointing goes by the order in which they came down to earth. Bastet was first to arrive, Sobek was second. There are seven in all, equalizing to the number of Millenium Items there are in this world." Atemu replied with his eyes closed as he let the heated breeze of the desert rush through his hair.

"How do you know that?" Atem asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm psychic...by the way, you may want to finish up that water. You need your head clear." Atemu said in reply without opening his eyes.

"My head is clear enough thanks to your mother letting me rest abit..." Atem replied with his eyes going sideways in a slightly embaressed manner.

"Just remember that what happened between you and my mother was just a one-time thing and the information that she gave you is for this group's ears only." Atemu replied with a slightly narrowed look at him.

"I didn't hear you trying to stop me..." Atem muttered under his breath before being gently elbowed by Yugi.

"We're getting close." Atemu said softly as he slightly opened his eyes.

"I know, I feel it. Is there going to be a guardian monster waiting for us there, too?" Atem asked softly as he placed his hand over the Millenium Puzzle.

"I'm assuming. The problem is, I'm not sure wether this one is going to be stronger or weaker than the last, and I don't know where these monsters are coming from. They're not Atsu's minions, I know that." Atemu replied.

"If their not his...whose are they?" Yugi asked in concern.

"Somebody who might be partners with my brother and someone whose ass I'd like to give a swift kick..." Atemu replied softly.

"I call seconds..." Kaiba added, earning himself a slight chuckle from his brother who was sitting in the passenger seat with Kesi between them.

The vehicle soon slowed to a stop once the Puzzle slowly faded it's glow as Atem opened the door on his side before exiting the vehicle with Yugi slowly following him and he looked out at the Nile to see no temple awaiting them, then he looked down at his Millenium Puzzle with a frown of slight confusion until his deck began to glow with a heavenly color and he held his arm out in front of him for Bastet to appear from his deck in her womanly form, a 5' 9" tall woman with tanned skin, black hair flowing down her back to her tail-bone, a goddess-like body with slender features and an hour-glass figure, white, sleeveless Egyptian dress that framed her figure perfectly and went down to her ankles, golden neckbrace on her throat, golden arm and wrist cuffs, golden ankle cuffs, and golden sandles on her feet along with a black feline mask on her face to hide her matured facial features. Yugi pushed Atemu's jaw up from the half-creature having it dropped upon sight of the solar goddess and Bastet silently looked up at the sky while raising her hands towards the heavens before the sky darkened with night and stars twinkled in the blanket of dark-blue as the moon slowly replaced the sun. The Nile water level slowly began to rise and the waters shook and rippled as a stone temple began to slowly rise from the Nile delta where the Nile met the Meditterranian Sea and Bastet slowly lowered her hands to her sides with her task completed before silently returning to Atem's deck, then Atemu silently picked up Kesi from his side while approaching the Nile bank to stare out at the temple and looked back to see the other males doing the same with the same thoughtful looks in their eyes on how they figured to getting over to the temple. Atem then looked down at his deck silently and slowly rose his arm to retreive his deck from the holder and he then slowly examined each card to see if he had any monsters that would be suitable for swimming across the Nile before Yugi felt his own duel disk appear on his arm at the same time Kaiba's did as well in a golden light, then Slifer appeared from his card that Atem held above his head only to lower to the ground for his body to be carefully mounted and the God of the Sky gave a powerful flap of his wings to send himself airborne and flew over the Nile with it's passengers safely on his back. Atem slowly reached down to stroke some of the side of Silfer's second mouth and this earned him an approving and rumbling purr from the first Egyptian God and Yugi chuckled faintly hearing this before moving beside Atem do the same only to receive the same reaction without Slifer losing his focus.

"He's been with us through alot..." Atem said softly as he moved back onto Slifer's head.

"I know...he's even put himself in some of those situations to protect the other Egyptian Gods, remember?" Yugi asked with his head turning over his shoulder to look back at the ex-Pharaoh.

Atem slowly nodded with a slight smile, "Mm-hm. All three of them protect one another if they believe the others need it."

"Just like you two, and I can't believe I'm saying it." Kaiba replied softly.

"Look whose talking, Mother Hen." Atem remarked.

"Here we go..." Yugi muttered while Slifer gave a huff of steam through his nostrils.

""Mother Hen?" Really? Big talk from somebody who threw a big ol' fit from losing their other half!" Kaiba snapped.

"Oh no..." Mokuba muttered while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Try it sometime and then ask me why I threw a fit, you selfish, greedy, adopted daddy's boy!" Atem replied.

Atemu grinned amusingly as he watched the two duelists get into a struggle until Slifer gave a warning snap of his tail that sent his entire body into a wave and he caught Atem from falling off with a grab to the back of his jacket while Mokuba caught Kaiba's arm to keep him from falling off as well, then Atemu pulled him up to sit down beside him against one of Slifer's wings with Kesi sitting comfortably in his own lap and Kaiba huffed as he sat himself beside Mokuba against Slifer's other wing. Yugi reached down to gently rub beside Slifer's left eye as the God of the Sky continued to soar through the air towards the temple and he slowly lowered his body to circle the temple with his upper body by the entrance with one of his wings making a bridge onto the stone surface of the temple entrance. The group silently walked across Slifer's wing onto the temple surface before Atem held up his arm for Slifer to return to his deck in a golden light and he then lowered his arm to follow the others inside the temple where the inside of the rectangular of the temple was covered in moss and Egyptian water lillies on the walls, ceiling, and the floors along with ten inches of the floor being covered in water where white lotuses grew alongside water lilies and fish swam freely alongside frogs and white cranes. The ceiling of the temple had a circular opening where the sunlight could enter for the plant life and the sunlight reflected each drop of water that dripped down from the ceiling into the watered floor. In the center of the room was a stone statue of a crocodile mounted on a moss-covered stone while being three times the size of a normal crocodile and his mouth was open as if to give out a powerful hiss and Atem slowly looked around at his surroundings before stepping down the stone staircase into the water with the others following him closely, Atemu lowering Kesi down onto her feet before following and she took a hold of his kilt upon decending into the water.

"This place looks more aged than Bastet's temple..." Yugi said softly with his hand gripping one of Atem's hands that was reached back slightly.

"I think it's the presence of the moss that gives this place a little more age...other than that, the stone here is just as chipped and dull." Atemu replied while keeping a close eye on Kesi with a few glances.

"Where's that monster that's supposed to be here? This can't be the only temple that's not guarded..." Kaiba said softly.

"Patience, Kaiba...he's probably just waiting for us to get to a certain distance..." Atem replied.

Without a warning, Guardian Kay'est bursted from beneath the water between Atem and Yugi and Kaiba and Mokuba and this sent both pairs of males splashing into the water on either side of the temple before pushing themselves up while glaring at the Monster challengingly as she gave out a watery sound of threatening purpose, then she quickly looked over towards Kaiba as Blue Eyes White Dragon gave out her own threatening roar and Atem pulled Yugi quickly out of the way as she prepared her White Lightning attack only to waste away Guardian Kay'est easily before her attack slowly faded. Blue Eyes slowly lowered her head onto Kaiba's shoulder as he raised a hand to gently run it along her bottom jaw before she slowly vanished into his deck in a golden light and he looked forward silently at Atem as he moved onto the stone that the crocodile statue was currently mounted upon while he took a hold of his Puzzle with both hands. He then slowly brought the face of his Puzzle close to the stone's forehead like he did to Bastet and the stone statue glow brightly through the Egyptian scriptures carved into it's body as Atem slowly backed away with the Eye of Ujat appearing on it's forehead, then the stone suddenly began to crack and fell into the water as the crocodile shook the stone off it's body from it's head to the tip of it's tail before moving into the water with a powerful hiss only to rise once more onto the stone with a snort of mist from it's nostrils. A deep, gentle voice spoke from the throat of the crocodile, "Hark the heavens, the Nile, and sea...I am awakened by thy faithful Pharaoh", and he slowly turned back towards the group with his ocean-blue eyes glowing faintly in the light from the sun. Atem slowly approached the crocodile before lowering into a kneel with his left leg forward and Yugi slowly followed suit while the rest of the group did the same as well and the crocodile gave a low hiss as if sighing from seeing Atem and Yugi again after 5,000 years.

"It's been a very long time, my Pharaoh and Prince...I never thought I would see you again after the battle." the crocodile said softly.

"Sobek...long time no see..." Atemu said softly as he slowly rose from his kneeling position.

"Ah, Atemu...here again to go against your brother once more, I see. You're looking as well as ever." Sobek replied.

"You bet...you're not looking too bad yourself for a croc..." Atemu replied casually as he crossed his arms.

"Watch yourself, dog-legs." Sobek chuckled faintly.

"I take it that you got into the same situation as your brethern..." Atem said as he slowly rose into a standing postion with Yugi doing the same.

"Unfortunatly, my Pharaoh. It was a sad, sad day the day we were all cast into stone prisons...but, now you have come home to release us from those prisons and Ra's holy light will once again shine through the cloud of darkness in Atsu's wake." Sobek replied softly.

Atem nodded slightly before Sobek slowly faded into a golden light that quickly traveled to the ex-Pharaoh's deck and Atem then looked over at Yugi to see that he was looking down at the water that went up past his knees, then Atem slowly reached over and gently took Yugi's hand in a brotherly manner to get the smaller male to look at him only to receive a reassuring smile. Moments later, the group was once again on the trail for the third guardian, Weneg, the Egyptian God of Nature, and the Millenium Puzzle continued to point the way until it was sure that they were going the right eay and it then slowly lowered against Atem's abdomen. Atemu sniffed at the air half-way down the path and faintly growled with Atem quickly turning his head towards him upon hearing the growl while Kaiba looked back at him through the rear-view mirror, then the vehicle slowed to a stop as Atemu quickly got out to take a few steps away from the vehicle and he looked around slowly with his ears going back and forth. He then quickly looked up only to see a black cloud before letting out a loud painful roar as he was stabbed completly through with a large black sword and he panted shakily after a few short moments as he opened his eyes to see Iah standing over him with his hand on the handle of the blade. A slow grin developed on Atemu's lips as his hand slowly reached up as if take a faint hold of Iah's hand and he instead grabbed the blade of the sword currently stabbed through his abdomen, electric sparks of black energy quickly consuming the blade and Iah's entire arm to his entire body in a matter of seconds before Iah was consumed in a large orb of Atemu's energy and sent flying backwards without his sword.

"...I-I knew Atsu was...desperate...but...th-this is...getting ridiculous...!" Atemu struggled to say as he stood slowly with the blade still hanging from his body before he yanked it out on his own only to toss it aside where it bursted into a cloud of black smoke.

"Daddy!" Kesi cried out as she rushed to his side after Kaiba exited the vehicle with Atem and Yugi.

"Kesi, stay back! This isn't your fight..." Atemu grunted as his wound painfully healed on it's own.

"...You can't heal yourself without causing pain...you're getting weak..." Iah growled as he pushed himself into a standing position.

"I don't need to eat to build my strength, you filthy piece of my brother's flesh! What did he make you out of? His skin?" Atemu hissed.

"He made me out of his heart...his heart beats beside my own..." Iah replied.

Atemu grinned at Iah's answer and slowly began to chuckle, then his chuckling became amused laughter as he arm went across his stomach and he slowly calmed after a few moments, "That's priceless! To think he would be stupid enough to put his own beating heart inside an assistant whose only purpose is to obey every pull of the strings Atsu makes."

"That may be true...but, I cannot be impregnated with your spawn." Iah replied with narrowed eyes.

"...Are you so sure about that...?" Atemu asked with a slightly raised eyebrow and a deathly grin.

Iah made a disgusted sound before making a charge at Atemu only to be forced back by a wave of Atemu's energy that also shocked the second heart Iah carried in his chest to the point where Iah could barely rise himself from the sands as Atemu slowly approached him with his tail slowly swaying behind him in a casual manner and Iah quickly reached his arm out to trap Atemu in a flock of tentacles, then he slowly rose with his sword appearing in his hand and he slowly stood in front of Atemu while the tentacles were threatening to seep into the cross-stitch on his frontal body. Iah then cried out in pain as a powerful force gripped at Atsu's heart that beat within him and Atemu quickly looked to the side to see the Goddess Bastet standing beside him with her left hand extended outward towards Iah while the tentacles instantly retracted into Iah before he vanished quickly. Atemu felt around his cross-stitch for any openings only to find that each stitch was in-tact and he slowly lifted his head to see Bastet silently move over to his side, her presence giving off a warmth that he was entirely unfamiliur with as she slowly lifted her hand once more only to hover it over the cross-stitch on his frontal body and the skin slowly molded together with the stitches disolving without a trace of them left. Before he could swallow the lump in his throat to thank her, she silently walked over to Atem's side in a womanly slender stroll that had Atemu staring over his shoulder despite himself and he shook his head out of his own thoughts upon Kesi asking if he was alright before he picked her up to try and clear his head by holding her close to him in a reassuring manner. His ears slowly lowered upon Atem moving over to his side, where Kesi's head didn't limit Atemu's vision, upon seeing the ex-Pharaoh give him a playfully scolding look while also commenting that Atemu needed to be reminded of who and what Bastet is and Atemu gave a slight hiss in warning for Atem to watch who he was talking to, though he knew better and he shrunk his ears as far as they would go down while looking over into Kesi's river of black hair to hide the fact that he was blushing faintly once Atem was gone.

"...Daddy...you feel warmer..." Kesi said softly with her chin on his shoulder and her arms around his shoulders.

"...It's the sun..." Atemu replied quickly, cursing himself mentally for not keeping himself calmer.

"But, Daddy, you said that it didn't-"

"We need to keep going...and you need a nap." Atemu interupted before Kesi could continue question his odd behavior.

Kesi giggled faintly as Atemu silently walked back towards the vehicle with her still in his arms and he sat in the back-seat with Atem and Yugi once again, only this time with Kesi in his lap, as the vehicle was once again set on course and he ran his claws through her hair slowly in a brushing manner upon the vehicle finally approaching the third temple. Kesi piggy-backed Atemu's back as he and the other males moved away from the vehicle once in front of the temple that was surrounded by an oasis where greenery and large palm trees grew freely with fruit hanging off their branches and Atem led the way into the large temple that was nothing but a large garden on the inside with sunlight coming in through the opened ceiling. The stone statue of a male antelope two times the size of a regular antelope stood in the center of the temple in a powerful stance as if presenting authority and Atem looked around slowly along with the others for any signs of a creature awaiting them only to see nothing or no-one in the temple with them, then their heads turned towards a large tree, larger than the others, began to move on it's own accord and opened two black eyes to reveil itself as Naturia Guardian before raising large trunks it had planted into the ground underneath the group to send them falling onto the ground in unison on each side of the temple. Yugi then quickly stood only to call upon Gandora The Dragon Of Destruction and Gandora let out a powerful roar as it got into a protective stance above it's master before letting out a powerful fire attack that easily wasted away Naturia Guardian before it had a chance to retaliate. Gandora lowered his head with a deep, dark rumbling purr and Yugi gently ran his hand along the side of Gandora's face in a praising manner and Gandora slowly vanished into Yugi's deck in a golden light, then he looked over to see Atem moving in front of the statue and Atem then slowly placed the eye of his Millenium Puzzle against the forehead of the statue.

"Hark the earth, sky, and greenery...I am reborn by thy faithful Pharaoh." a soft, gentle male voice spoke once the stone began to glow golden through the scriptures carved into the statue's body and the stone began to crack quickly before falling to the ground.

The group lowered into a kneel with their left legs forward as the creature hidden underneath the stone rose it's front hooves to the heavens and Atem lowered his head in a bow, "Welcome back, Weneg..."

"Pharaoh Atem...and Prince Heba. My, my, this is such a delight after such a long time sleeping in stone." Weneg replied upon lowering his front hooves back onto the ground and twitching his ears in a delighted manner.

"Uh, actually, it's Yugi now, your Holyness." Yugi replied shyly as he stood with the rest of the group.

"I know...I just figured you'd want to be called your Egyptian name...considering. And I see you've brought Priest Seto as well. I am very happy to see you as well, though in a reincarnated form, you look no different than you did all those years ago." Weneg said softly.

"Thanks...I guess..." Kaiba replied with a raised eyebrow before being elbowed in the stomach by Mokuba.

"Well, then...I suppose you'll be needing my help, what with Atsu up to his regular old tricks again. I shall asssit you with every bit of pride that I have for being a deity of Egypt. May the God of Gods always watch over you, my Pharaoh, for I fear that he may be your only savior..." Weneg said softly before vanishing in a golden light into Atem's deck.

"God of Gods? Amun?" Yugi asked.

"Not another deity we have to awaken, I hope..." Atemu muttered with a flick of his tail.

"I think he was just using Amun as a way of comfort, not as an indication Amun is on our list. Unless there's something you're not telling me, Atemu." Atem replied with a look his way.

"Amun did get involved with the feud, but he never came down to earth with the seven guardians..." Atemu replied with a slight shrug.

"Then stop worrying." Atem said softly while passing the half-creature calmly.

Atemu grunted faintly and flicked his tail out to trip Atem slightly, "Nice attitude, your Highness..."

"Don't start it with me, Atemu...I've got enough on my mind right now as it is now that your brother has a new assistant chasing us around." Atem replied calmly as he caught his footing with Yugi's help.

"...His name is Iah...and he's no normal assistant compared to Anthea. I heard a voice within him that I had thought died long ago...the voice of what my brother once was when we were younger. He told me the name of this assistant while I was trapped in the tentacles...and that Iah is not only holding my brother's heart, but also what good side was left of him. Iah is a living, breathing puppet my brother is pulling the strings on to make sure he has nothing to hold him back from getting rid of me for good this time, and to finish what he started." Atemu said softly with his eyes going downward.

"Tell me something, Atemu...why wouldn't your brother come after just you when that assistant of his had us all cornered in the middle of the desert?" Kaiba questioned.

"...He's planning on absorbing the Alices he captured and the Dreamer...and, soon, me. He wanted just my blood to spill, but I'm not willing to die that easily. I only took it easy on him and let him get control over me because I wanted to see what would make him snap and what abilities he could use...he's no different than my brother when it comes to his tentacle ability, but the sword is something I've never been exposed to. Best thing for us to do right now is to continue searching for the fourth God..." Atemu replied.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Atem asked from his place by the exit with Yugi at his side.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty Nine

"...You failed...didn't you...?" Atsu growled faintly without looking at Iah.

"...Please, my Lord...forgive me...I promise I won't fail you next time..." Iah pleaded softly as he moved his kneeling position closer to his master's bedside to put his gloved right hand over Atsu's that was pressed into the matress.

Atsu slowly turned his head to stare at the top of Iah's bowed head, then he reached over to run the claws of his other hand into Iah's hair non-gently in order to make Iah's head slowly move back, "...You're forgiven...besides, I have another job for you anyway..."

"Anything, my Lord!" Iah replied softly as his hair was slowly released.

"I need you to get to the fourth guardian before they do and kill the Egyptian deity of fire, Qebui, who has no gender, while it is still trapped in it's stone prison. I don't think that should be too hard for you...considering," Atsu said softly with the claws of the same hand going under Iah's chin to keep his head up, "do that...and I'll find a way to reward you."

"Your appetite, sir..." Iah said softly.

"I can finish off the rest of my prisoners myself...I'm a big boy, Iah, you're just my messenger...and something more..." Atsu replied softly, his hand slowly trailing down to Iah's chest over where his own heart beat within the chest of his assistant.

Iah slowly put his unoccupied hand over Atsu's, "My Lord...why does your heart reside within me? What purpose do you have for me that this must remain inside me?"

Atsu smiled slightly, though a dark intent flickered in Atsu's eyes from the question, "...You'll find out soon enough, my assistant...now, go...you're letting them get ahead..."

Iah nodded and quickly vanished without another word with Atsu's hands slowly closing into fists upon him doing so while he slowly sat himself back up on the bed before his head slowly turned towards a sleeping Emerald that was laying on her back spread-eagle, head turned to the side against a ruffled pillow and trapped in the blackness of unconsciousness. Atsu slowly moved his upper-body over her to brush the back of his hand against her cheek that was exposed to him and she shifted slightly with a faint tired groan, then he slowly turned away from her to stare down the corridor of prison cells in thought as the crying and loud sobs of his prisoners were brought to his ears that twitched and shifted with the frequencies of the sounds. His stomach growled in anticipation just by hearing the sounds of his remaining prisoners and he placed a hand of his stomach slowly while hissing for it to be silent before he slowly rose, fully naked, from the bed to silently move down the corridor with his bat-like wings folded in behind him and brushing faintly against the floor along with his tail that had grown in length with his fangs and the claws on his hands and feet following in unison. Atsu slowed to a stop in front of a cell containing another young woman with dark-brown hair and bodily features similar to the black-haired woman that he had violated moments before Emerald and he slowly unlocked the cell with his psychic energy by lifting a hand slowly in front of the lock, then he silently entered the cell as she quickly moved away fearfully at the sight of Atsu's brightly glowing eyes and he roughly made a grab for her hair to pull her up against the wall where he bound her with his tentacles. The other female prisoners shook and cried heavily as the screams of the prisoner in Atsu's hold screamed painfully with Atsu's deep growls filled the corridor and the ears of every prisoner, even the ones who tightly sheltered their ears with their hands, were pierced with the screams that grew louder by the minute until they became painful, desperate cries blended with the sounds of Atsu's animalistic grunts and growls.

A sharp, piercing cry erupted from the cell alongside Atsu's surprised and loud, hiss-mixed groan and the female prisoner sobbed heavily in humiliation blended with agony as she was carelessly dropped to the floor at Atsu's feet and he stared down at her through half-closed eye-lids with his tail going back and forth as if he was thinking of other things he could do with her besides rape and devour. She shakily looked up at him to see his eyes staring down at her thoughtfully and she pressed herself back against the wall as far as could while covering her exposed breasts with her arms and long hair, then she hesitantly pleaded for her life to be spared in a voice that made Atsu's ears move back and forth in delight to the sound he smiled a dark smile as he lowered in front of her in a crouch without a tint of worry for his manhood being in full-view. In a voice that was both a purr and a hiss, he made an offer to spare her life in exchange for her to prove that she wasn't worthy of becoming a meal and she shakily nodded in understanding to the offer before she slowly removed herself from the wall in order to shakily move herself into a dog-style position between his bent legs while he remained in his crouched position. Her next move forced a loud gasp from Atsu that he instantly tried to silence to no avail and he quickly dropped a knee to the ground to keep his balance as he put a hand over his mouth to muffle his animalistic grunts that grew louder and she began to make her own faint grunts that almost blended with his own. His grunts soon morphed into male groans as the minutes went by and her own grunting grew abit louder, then his groans slowly turned into loud moans as time continued to move forward as Atsu slowly let his head roll back with his eyes and he only opened his eyes quickly while letting out a loud animalitic hiss of release with his entire body tensing up and his tail hitting against the floor harshly, his wings spreading at full length, before slowing to a stop as his muscules slowly relaxed along with his wings.

The girl collapsed onto the floor while coughing harshly and gasping for air as Atsu slowly rose to his feet to stare down at her for a while until she slowly gained her breath, "...You've proven your worth...I'm going to need an army and just my creature-born servants won't do..."

"...Please...please, let me go..." she shakily pleaded as she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position to look up at him.

"I'm afraid I can't, "he purred softly while his tail slowly slid it's tip along her jaw-line, "but, I can promise you that I won't eat you...or absorb you. No...I may have use for you that I may not have seen before..."

She said nothing as Atsu silently left her cell only to lock it once he was outside and he silently moved into cell across from hers towards a young woman about her own age, then the woman gasped loudly with her hands going over her mouth in horror while watching Atsu devour the woman hungrily without a second thought only to turn her head quickly once she saw Atsu's claws rip at the woman's flesh as if it was paper and the piercing screams and cries of agony hurt her ears. She then slowly peaked from between her fingers to see Atsu feasting on the insides of the woman that now lay silent underneath him and she fought to keep the contents of her stomach where they were while watching the intestines of the woman being eaten along with other organs she didn't even want to know what they were. Atsu then slowly lowered himself down once he'd eaten every organ inside and closed his eyes as he drank the blood inside, then he continued his feasting by consuming the rest of the outer flesh piece-by-piece and only left the same amount of parts behind as Anthea only to consume the heart like he did Anthea's. He silently stood once he was finished with the girl and left her cell while locking it behind him with his tail and he silently walked back down the corridor to his bedroom where Emerald remained in a deep sleep. He slowly reached his hand out for chains to bind her gently to the bed so that she wouldn't awaken from her sleep and he slowly lowered it once he was sure that she wouldn't be able to escape, then he silently made his way to another cell where he continued his feasting and screams once again filled the corridor.

Meanwhile...

Atem silently left the vehicle once Atemu's barrier was put up to keep the sandstorm at bay as it circled the temple and Yugi followed him closely with Kesi piggy-backing Atemu once more while Atemu remained focused on keeping the barrier up that was large enough to keep the path into the temple clear, the temple wall doors being all the way open without Atem having to do anything, then the group silently made their way inside the temple with no walls, only pillars to keep the opened ceiling up that were carved with Egyptian scriptures, and Atem's eyes instantly went to the statue of Qebui, a four-headed winged ram that was 6' 4" tall with it's angelic wings spread wide and each head in mid bellow and it's front hooves raised as if in battle position. He then silently walked around the statue to see Iah standing over Koa'ki Meiru Guardian that lay motionless in a pile of rubble and Iah slowly looked over his shoulder to look at the ex-Pharaoh with glowing eyes before making a charge for him until Weneg appeared to push back with his antlers against Iah's sword that gave a piercing ring upon contact with Weneg's antlers. Weneg then gave a powerful shove that made Iah skid to catch himself after flying backwards and the nature god shook his head to try and relieve himself of the headache that resulted from this action, then he back at Atem to silently signal him to awaken Qebui while he had Iah distracted and he quickly looked forward just in time to leap out of range of Iah's blade that stabbed into the stone floor instead. Iah then glared over at the nature god before quickly turning his head in order to move himself out of the way of an attack from Silent Magician LV 8 and his tentacles quickly emerged from his body to attempt in binding her and the nature god only to conflict with the magician's barrier and Weneg's tree roots that sprouted from the stone ground while Iah made an attempt to attack Atem until Chaos Emperor Dragon shielded the attack with his wing only to return the favor and release his own attack as Weneg held him in place with vines that grew out of the tree roots. The temple was then shaken with the bellow of Qebui as he broke free of his stone prison only to slam his hooves down onto the stone ground once Atem was clear out of the way and all four heads of Qebui turned to glare at Iah with bright golden eyes that narrowed once Iah escaped once again with heavy burns on his skin from Chaos Dragon's attack, then the God of the North Winds slowly looked down at Atem with one of it's heads before the other three slowly followed suit to see Atem lowered in a kneel along with Kaiba and Yugi and Qebui slowly lowered one of his heads to nudge his snout lightly against the top of Atem's head.

"There is no need to kneel before me, my Pharaoh..." he/she said softly in a soft, yet deep, voice that was a blend of a male and female voice as his/her head slowly rose.

Atem slowly rose with the other two males of the group while looking up at the wind deity, "I am sorry he disturbed your temple before we could make it here..."

"He isn't the first to walk into this temple with a dark intent in his heart...though, I must say, he is the first to make it through the sandstorms without a tint of exaughstion. He reeks of Atsu's scent..." Qebui replied as one of it's heads gave a disgusted snort.

"Qebui!" Weneg excaimed as he leaped over in front of wind deity happily.

"Ah, I see you've brought one of my brethern. It's nice to see you again, Weneg. I trust that he's not the only deity you've woken out of there slumber." Qebui said softly as he/she lowered a head to Weneg only to meet heads with the nature god.

"No...but, I highly doubt Sobek would enjoy this kind of environment..." Atem replied as Bastet appeared at his side.

"Picky little croc..." Qebui muttered under it's breath before vanishing slowly into Atem's deck in a golden light at the same time as Weneg.

"Three more to go...you're getting closer." Bastet said softly.

"I just wish there was a faster way to awaken them without traveling the desert while Atsu could be doing Ra only knows what to the Alices..." Atem said softly.

"No one ever said that this was going to be easy, Atem...but, at least it'll be worth it." Yugi said softly as the Silent Magician went back into his deck the same time Chaos Dragon went into Kaiba's.

"...Have faith in us, Atem...I promise you that we will find a way to repay you for what you're doing for this world. Just be patient, my child, and I swear that it'll all be proven a great worth." Bastet said softly while putting a hand on Atem's shoulder lightly.

"Let's get back on the trail...we're wasting time just standing here and Iah's not going to be wounded for long." Kaiba said as he slowly turned to leave the temple with Mokuba close to his side.

"...Be patient, Atem..." Bastet repeated softly before vanishing into his deck in a golden light.

Yugi silently followed Atem out of the temple into the vehicle with Atemu still holding the barrier until the sandstorm calmed and cleared and the Millenium Puzzle glowed brightly as it rose itself from against Atem's body towards the direction of the fifth deity of Egypt, then Kaiba silently drove the vehicle in the direction it pointed and the Puzzle slowly lowered against it's owner once Kaiba was far enough on the right trail. The fifth temple of Khepri, the light deity, was in the shape of a large scarab beetle and in the direct sunlight and Kaiba slowed the vehicle to a stop in front of the temple for Atem and Yugi to get out first along with Atemu and Kesi before the Kaiba brothers silently got out in unison to walk behind the other four into the temple where the statue of a 6' 2" tall scarab beetle greeted them in the center of the temple with an opened ceiling to let the sunlight beam down upon it and a staircase of stone led up to the beetle where it's forehead was presented. Atem then looked around to see if there was a creature awaiting them only to see and hear nothing until he tried to approach the statue only to be stopped by Servant of Light as he bursted out from the ground only to be done away with by Bastet before she vanished back into his deck without a word before he then ascended the staircase and he gently placed the eye of his Puzzle against the forehead of the statue, then the statue began to glow a bright gold through the scriptures carved into it's body as Atem quickly went back down the staircase and the stone fell to the ground like pieces of a puzzle while Khepri shook free of his prison with the cry of a scarab beetle until he was entirely free. He then slowly moved from behind the staircase to see Atem in a silent kneel along with the others of his group and he tilted his beetle head at the sight of Atem and Yugi, who he mistook for Heba, with a beetle-like sound of curiosity that made Atem slowly raise his head along with Yugi. This made Khepri slowly lower his head to get a better look at them.

"...Well, bless my eyes and the holy heavens...it's the royal siblings! I never thought I would see you two again in all my days..." he said in a low, deep voice.

"It's nice to meet you again, Your Holyness..." Atem said with a slight smile as he rose to a standing position with Yugi while the others in the group followed suit.

"...Ah, Atemu...I see you're looking well. And who is the Little One?" Khepri asked.

"Kesi...my flesh and blood...and I could be better..." Atemu replied with Kesi digging her face into his shoulder shyly.

"I know...I can smell your brother in the air...we must make haste now..." the light deity replied before vanishing into Atem's deck in a golden light.

"Two more left...Maahes and Hemsut..." Atemu said softly.

"We're almost finished...I just hope the Alices'll make it long enough for us to get to the other two..." Yugi said softly as he walked with Atem towards the exit.

"I'm not sensing any one of them in any danger...my connection with them is only strong enough to feel their pain and I haven't felt anything in a long while." Atemu reassured as the group slowly moved back into the vehicle.

"Let's awaken Maahes and then worry about the Alices..." Kaiba said as he drove the vehicle into the direction the Puzzle was pointing.

Meanwhile...

Carina gently knocked on the door of Yugi and Atem's hotel room, "Rona? Sweety, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine...come on in." Rona replied softly.

Carina slowly opened the door to see the blonde Alice sitting in one of the chairs by the window where Little Ann was sitting at her side and the female Werewolf sighed faintly seeing Rona looking out the window with the same emotion in her eyes that she herself was feeling, "Hun, don't you worry. They're going to be just fine..."

"I hope you're right...I have no way of knowing since..." Rona trailed off with a hand going to her chest.

"I know, honey...I know..." Carina said softly as she slowly walked into the room while closing the door behind her.

"I'm sorry, I'm just...worried...my boyfriend and my brother are out there, and I don't know where either of them are..." Rona said softly, close to tears.

"Rona, it's gonna be okay. They know what they're doing and I promise that they're not going to let that Alice hurt them." Carina reassured as she moved over behind Rona to put her hands comfortly on the Alice's shoulders.

Rona sniffled softly as she dried her yellow-colored tears, "Thank you...the only comfort that I have is that he took the rose I gave to him with him. At least he has a piece of me with him."

"We both have a man out there that we love trying to save the world...I figured we could stick together, from one woman to another. I'm just as worried about Kaiba as you are about Yugi." Carina said softly as she sat in the chair near her.

"I'm glad to have a friend...Ann's a good friend too, but she can't talk unfortunatly." Rona said softly as she gently played with one of Little Ann's ears.

"Dogs are only a friend to you if you don't hit or yell at them, I would know. I'm a dog myself, just with a human side too. She looks like she misses Yugi really bad, though..." Carina replied.

Rona gently ran her hand along Ann's head as the canine laid her head on Rona's lap, "She hasn't eaten or taken a drink since Yugi left after saying goodbye. I think she knows that Yugi's putting himself at a risk out there."

"Poor dear...no wonder she's so depressed...she knows everything that's going on." Carina said softly with a look of sympathy towards Little Ann.

"Yeah...I just hope Yugi doesn't get himself hurt. I don't know what she'll do then...and I don't know what I'll do either." Rona said softly as she looked out the window once more.

"...Too bad cell phones don't get any service out there..." Carina said softly as she slowly stood from the chair to stretch out her arms.

"Even if they could get a signal, it'd probably be a crappy one...what with the heat and the possibility of sandstorms out there. It's Egypt, not the city..." Rona replied.

"Yeah, I know...it'd be nice, though, if Mother Nature would be a little kind to us right now. I'd like to know if my boyfriend's getting a heat stroke out there or something." Carina grunted.

Rona giggled faintly, "I think Kaiba's tough...he can handle the heat. I'm just worried that the enemy Alice'll get them and we won't find out about it...I've seen too many movies where this kind of thing happens and the girlfriend is always usually the first one that the enemy goes after, and if not, then she has to find out the hard way that her boyfriend is either hurt or captured."

"I like the movies where she's dating a hot bad boy with alot of enemies and they fight against the people chasing after them together and still have a hot sex life." Carina chuckled as she sat back down in the chair.

"I love those movies...kind of sounds like what you and Kaiba could have if...you know, you were there..." Rona giggled.

Carina stared out the window thoughtfully for a few moments, then grinned wolfishly as she looked over at Rona, "I've got an idea...why should our boyfriends be the only ones to have the fun?~"


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Atem slowly emerged from the vehicle once it slowed to a stop with Yugi following him closely and Atemu silently followed suit with Kesi being gently held in his arms and the Kaiba brothers silently emerging once the coast was clear, then the group silently entered the lava-circled temple over the bridge that led into the temple where the statue of a male lion twice the size of a normal lion in mid-roar greeted them while being surrounded by a lake of magma with a stone bridge to cross over to stand in front of him and Atem looked around slowly for any signs of a guardian monster waiting for them. The temple suddenly shook violently with the roar of a creature that burst upward out of the lava to reveil himself as Guardian Sphinx before being confronted by Gandora and Slifer, roaring in unison back at the Guardian monster as they were also joined by Blue Eyes White Dragon, and the three dragons released their own attacks at the Sphinx only to easily over-power the creature who fell into the magma in multiple pieces. Atem then slowly walked across the stone bridge toward Maahes as the three dragons vanished into their owner's deck to gently press the eye of his Millenium Puzzle against the forehead of the stone-frozen deity and Maahes began to glow through the Egyptian scriptures carved into his body, then the stone began to crack and fall to pieces onto the floor for his white, heavenly glowing fur to be reveiled as Atem slowly moved back beside Yugi before the temple began to tremble powerfully with Maahes roar with the lava levels slowly lowering. Maahes shook the remaining pieces of stone from his mane and slowly looked up to the heavens to say in a deep, powerful voice, "Hark the heavens and the eternal flames of Ra, I am awakened by thy faithful Pharaoh.", and slowly lowered his head as he slowly stepped across the stone bridge that easily supported the weight of the fire deity. Each step he took, his mane shook and swayed and his tail gave a lazy sway of it's own.

"Long time no see, Pharaoh Atem...and I see you brought the young Prince with you, and your cousin. It's a regular reunion." Maahes said with a soft chuckle.

"I'm sorry you have to be awakened at such a gray time, Maahes..." Atem said softly.

"I'm not just a fire deity...I'm the God of War, it's my job." Maahes chuckled before he slowly vanished into Atem's deck with a golden light.

"One more to go..." Yugi said with relief.

"One more and we can finally get back to the girls to see if they're okay." Kaiba said softly as he slowly exited the temple with Mokuba right behind him.

"Atemu? What will happen after we awaken Hemsut?" Yugi asked curisously.

Atem looked up from Kesi at Yugi while still holding the girl in his arms, "...We'll head to the battlefield and Atsu will have no choice but to come...we have to hurry, though. The wounds you gave Iah won't keep him down forever."

Yugi nodded as Atemu slowly turned to leave the temple before looking at Atem, "...What do you think he's going to do with Kesi when this starts?"

"I don't know, but I'm not buying the story he told us with the other piece of his soul left at the site of the battle. He looks like he's smart enough not to just leave it out in the open." Atem replied while taking one last look around the temple.

"Atsu would've found it by now if he did...so, where is it if it's not where he says it is?" Yugi asked.

Atem was about to answer while looking over at Yugi before looking over at the temple entrance hearing a female's voice say Yugi's name gently and Yugi turned his head to see the ex-Pharaoh was looking at Rona, who stood in the entry-way of the temple, and Atem smiled faintly while silently walking towards the entryway as he silently gave Yugi a "we'll talk later" look with Rona passing him before he even reached the entrance. Rona and Yugi met in a tight embrace that involved Yugi gently swinging her around and her squealing softly with laughter as she held on tight to him in response before being gently set on her feet only to have her lips quickly taken by his to silence her from questioning if they were close to awakening every guardian, then her arms slowly went around his neck as she returned the kiss open-heartedly and Yugi deepened the kiss after feeling her return the kiss. The kiss was slowly broken after a few moments and Rona rested her chin on Yugi's shoulder while Yugi held her closer against him to where he could swear that he could feel her heart beat against his chest through their clothing and they remained tangled in the embrace for minutes that seemed to go on like hours. Yugi slowly walked out of the temple with Rona at his side and his arm around her petite waist while her arm was wrapped around his lower-back and he blinked slowly seeing Carina and Kaiba tangled in their own embrace by the vehicle, then Yugi looked at Atem silently only to receive a silent "I don't know" shrug with a slightly raised eyebrow thrown into the mix and Atemu was silently sitting on the roof of the vehicle as Kesi sat comfortbly in his lap and he was acting as if he didn't even notice the two locked in an embrace. When questioned by Kaiba how they managed to find the group, Carina only smiled as she slowly pulled back from the billionair and she womanly put her hands on her hips.

"Cameron's magic training actually was worth something after all..." Carina replied proudly.

"Is Ann being taken care of?" Yugi asked concernly with his attention turning back to Rona.

"Mmhm...Cameron and Travis agreed to watch her. She's in good hands, I promise." Rona replied with a bright smile.

"Can we go yet? We still have one more Egyptian God to find and we need to get there quick. We can talk on the way." Atemu said impatiently.

"Don't get your tail in a not..." Atem muttered as he slowly got into the back seat.

"Ha, ha, ha..." Atemu grumbled as he slowly did the same after getting off the roof of the vehicle.

"You can sit in my lap in the back...if Kesi can do it, there should be enough room for you to." Yugi said softly.

"Okay." Rona giggled faintly as she walked with Yugi towards the side of the vehicle.

Rona moved onto Yugi's lap after he was comfortably seated in the back seat before pulling the door closed and she giggled faintly as Yugi held onto her waist gently to keep her balanced while looking over at Atem who was shaking his head slightly at him with a playful grin, then Atem looked over at Atemu with Kesi in his own lap and his grin slowly faded seeing Atemu's eyes distantly staring out the window while he was holding her against him instead of just letting her sit there, which Kesi didn't seem to mind at all. The crimson in Atemu's eyes had faded with a look of thought and another emotion that Atem couldn't decifer and Atem looked at Kesi to see her hands holding onto Atemu's arms as if afraid to let go, as if her life depended on holing onto him. He silently looked forward with a frown of confusion that he tried to hide from Yugi and Rona while Kaiba, Carina, and Mokuba got into the front seat for Kaiba to start moving the vehicle in the direction the Millenium Puzzle pointed towards once the vehicle began to move until it was sure that the billionair was driving in the right direction before lowering back down against Atem's body. The vehicle slowed to a stop moments later in front of the last temple of the goddess Hemsut, goddess of mankind, and Atem silently exited the vehicle with Yugi right behind him after Rona safely got off his lap to let both men out while Atemu silently got out on the other side with Kesi held in his arms, then Atemu silently looked around, half-expecting Iah to be waiting, only to relax slowly after not even catching a scent of the assistant and he silently followed the others into the temple where the statue of a horse that was twice the size of a normal horse with a stone staircase leading up to the head of the beast that was in mid neigh with her front hooves raised as if in defense position greeted them. The temple was more silent than the others, as if no creature awaited them, but Atemu's ears kept going back and forth to pick up even the faintest of sounds and Atem's eyes went everywhere for any signs of a creature only to find nothing or no one. Atem then quickly turned his head to see Hikmat look-alikes slowly emerge from behind the statue with hisses and snarls of hatred towards the group and the creatures charged once enough of them were exposed only to be stopped in their tracks from a barrier Atemu created with his own energy blended with Kesi's own while the three duelists in the group chose their defending monsters, Atem picking the Dark Magician, Yugi picking Silent Swordsman LV 10, and Kaiba choosing Blue Eyes White Dragon. The chosen monsters kept the Hikmat look-alikes back only to find that it seemed to be an endless swarm and Atem could see some look-alikes rush towards the statue before he ran out from behind the two magicians and dragon to try and stop them with Slifer, who wrapped himself around the statue quickly before the creatures could even get close to the sleeping Hemsut while also blasting away the look-alikes on the staircase.

"Atem! If you're going to wake her up, do it now! Sooner or later, our monsters aren't going to be able to keep them back enough! There's too many of them!" Kaiba shouted over the combined attacks of his dragon with the two sorcerors.

Atem nodded at him and Slifer seemed to understand the situation, for he lowered his body enough to where Atem could jump onto his back to use him as a bridge that led him to Hemsut's forehead and the ex-Pharaoh took a hold of his Puzzle to press it against her forehead only to be distracted by piercing screeches that made Atem lift his head to see Hikmat look-alikes with dragon-like wings flying in through a back entrance of the temple. He then quickly pressed the face of his Millenium Puzzle to Hemsut's forehead and the statue began to glow through the Egyptian scriptures that were carved into her body before the stone began to quickly crack and fall to the ground to reveil heavenly glowing, white horse hair with a golden yellow mane and tail on Hemsut. Slifer expanded his body slowly to give her enough room that allowed her to lower her frontal hooves only to raise them once more as she let out a powerful neigh while her golden mane gave such a bright glow that Atem had to cover his eyes and the flying creatures screeched painfully as they quickly fled from the temple along with the land creatures that dodged to avoid Hemsut's dropping hooves, then Slifer slowly lowered his body once more to allow Atem to touch the ground before the Dark Magician silently returned to his deck in a golden light along with the god of the sky and he slowly turned towards the goddess of man only to kneel down in front of her as the others in the group silently followed suit with the remaining monsters silently bowing their heads in respect. Hemsut slowly lowered her head to sniff faintly at Atem's hair and gave a soft snort of warm air as she slowly retracted her head to look at Atem once more and Atem slowly lifted his head to see Hemsut staring at her as if trying to remember his scent only to nicker happily seeing Atem's face. He then slowly rose from the ground with the others in the group and Hemsut gave another happy nicker.

"Oh, bless my eyes and the stars in the heavens! I never thought I would see you again, my Pharaoh! You too my Prince...and High Priest. It's so wonderful to see you all, you too Atemu." Hemsut said excitedly.

"It's nice to see you too, Hemsut..." Atemu replied with an awkward sway of his tail.

"I can smell Atsu a mile away...let's end this once and for all! I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, but we gods were never meant to stay on earth as long as we have...me and my brethern, I mean..." Hemsut said softly.

"Then, maybe you should...you know...go inside his deck now?" Atemu asked playfully.

"Hm? Oh, oh yes, of course!" Hemsut replied nervously before vanishing into Atem's deck in a golden light.

"That's it! Tht's all of them...finally!" Yugi said excitedly.

"Now what?" Kaiba asked.

"We have to go to the battle-field...once we get there, however, only myself, Atem, Yugi, and Kaiba may cross the bridge of stone to the battlefield where Atsu will have no choice but to appear..." Atemu replied softly, his face and eyes blank while he held Kesi against him against him closely.

"Let's get going then! You guys got a battle to finish!" Carina said encouragingly.

The males in question nodded in response and silently exited the temple into the vehicle for Kaiba to drive towards the battlefield that was pointed out by Atem's Millenium Puzzle while Rona sat in Yugi's lap once more and Kesi remained silent in Atemu's lap, Atem's attention mostly fixed on Atemu as he noticed the half-creature silently staring out the window with a look that said he was fighting back tears that never came and the ex-Pharaoh frowned in both curiosity to the feeling and concern for what the feeling was based around. He knew it wasn't the fact that he was about to kill his brother once more because Atemu knew that Atsu couldn't be saved, and he knew that it wasn't the fact that he could face his death without given a chance to seal hs soul away again because Atemu was stronger now. Even as the vehicle slowed to a stop, Atem's attention was mostly fixed on Atemu's behavior until he was broken out of his thoughts by Yugi gently tapping his shoulder for the ex-Pharaoh to look at him and he silently got out of the vehicle behind Yugi while the Kaiba and Mokuba got out together along with Carina only for the billionair to gently embrace them both in a caring manner. Atemu motioned the group of males to go on ahead with a silent head motion and waited until they were far enough to silently move behind a large rock a good distance away from the others where he slowly knelt down on the ground while laying Kesi carefully on the sand with her hands slowly folding over her stomach as she looked up at him without saying a word, then tears of crimson blood began to develop in his eyes as he slowly lowered down to lightly kiss her eye-lids that closed upon him lowering down and he slowly pulled away from her to gently brush the back of his clawed fingers along her cheek in a fatherly manner. A pain in his chest shocked through him as Kesi's eye-lids remained closed with her still not saying a word and he slowly closed his eyes in realization that she was not going to voice a single protest.

"Kesi...you've held onto the missing piece of me so well...I just wish there was a better way that I could thank you for doing so...besides this. To have to let you go through this alone..." Atemu said softly while he fought against letting his tears escape.

"It's okay, daddy...it's only for a little while...right? We'll be together again soon...right?" Kesi asked softly as she opened her eyes to look up at him.

Atemu felt himself choke on a lump in his throat while his eyes slowly opened to look down at her and he faked a smile as he gently put a hand on her cheek, "...Yes, Kesi...we'll be together again very soon...I promise...just...go to sleep...and I promise, this'll be over before you know it..."

Kesi slowly closed her eyes to obediantly fall asleep quickly and Atemu pulled his hand away slowly from her face after feeling her go limp in her unconscious state, then he slowly placed a hand over hers that remained folded over her stomach and he slowly closed his eyes as a bright light slowly appeared from under their hands that traveled up his arm to his chest where it then grew only to slowly fade. He slowly opened his eyes to look down at Kesi as her breath slowed to a stop before becoming non-existant and her hands slowly went cold under his touch while he finally let his tears escape only to drip slowly onto his own hand that gripped onto Kesi's own in regret. Atemu gathered Kesi into his arms in a fatherly manner to hold her limp form against his own and he gently moved Kesi's hair out of her face that remained peaceful as if she were still asleep, then he leaned back down to lightly kiss her icened cheek with trembling lips that whispered an apology in Egyptian before he slowly laid Kesi back down on the sand only to envelope her body into a pod similar to the one she was conceived within that slowly dug itself into the sand as he rose from the ground to watch until the pod was completly gone and he silently walked out from where he performed the ritual to silently walk onto the stone bridge where the others were waiting for him. Blood tears were still dripping from his jaw-bone area as he silently passed the others and the group silently followed him down the bridge without saying a word with the assumption that he didn't want to say goodbye to Kesi, but Atem had a bad feeling that it was something more than that. Meanwhile, Iah silently walked into the chamber with his face badly scarred with large claw marks slashed across his face and his right eye was closed from being damaged on the inside and Scarlet limply dropped into his arms after being let down from the chains, still unconscious, before he silently carried her down the corridor where the cells were now all drenched in blood with skeletons laying on the ground in pools of their own blood. He then slowed to a stop in front of the only cage with a survivor and turned his head to look at the only woman his master had spared, who was now bound to a wall in her cell by organic material with her arms bound at her sides and her stomach was heavily swollen while pulsing bright crimson from the inside and her breasts were covered by her hair as her head hung limply, but he could see that they had expanded as well.

The woman slowly lifted her head to look at Iah with blood-shot eyes and white lips, her skin a grayish color and her hair lifeless, her limbs thinner than normal and her eyes surrounded by dark circles. She shakily mouthed "help" as much as she could before painfully screaming with her head quickly lowering as her swollen stomach began shifting on it's own for a few short moments and Iah silently continued his way into his master's bedroom where Atsu was standing in front of the fireplace. Emerald turned her head to look at Iah and struggled in her binds seeing Scarlet, then she began calling Scarlet's name only to receive no answer due to her unconscious state and Iah slowly laid her down on a crimson sheet that was laid a distance from where Atsu was standing. The assistant then silently stood with a shamefully bowed head before looking up at his master after hearing Atsu snarl in disgust and he blinked in confusion seeing Atsu sharply turn from the fireplace to head for the exit while commanding Iah to keep an eye on the Alices. Iah then silently looked back down at Scarlet while Emerald softly begged him not to hurt her as she continued to struggle in her binds then he slowly knelt back down to gather Scarlet back into his arms and he stood back up to walk over to the bedside where he knelt down enough to where Emerald could reach over to touch her mark after one of her arms was released and she slowly did so.

"...This shouldn't be a re-make...it should be a repeat..." Iah said softly in a broken voice as Scarlet shifted in his arms.

"You're helping us?" Emerald asked softly in shock.

"I don't want to end up like Anthea, though he can't kill me because I'm carrying his heart...I'll keep him distracted while you give the Dreamer enough strength to get you all out of here. I'm not going to let him get away with scarring me like a beaten animal..." Iah replied.

"Alright..." Emerald said softly as she was freed of her binds.

She quickly got dressed and helped Scarlet onto her feet before Iah slowly decended down the corridor into the chamber where Atsu was preparing to consume the Dreamer until Iah harshly pushed Atsu off of him with his own tentacles, then the Green and Red Alices rushed into the chamber together and Scarlet grabbed her sword to cut the Dreamer free from Atsu's tentacles in order for him to stand from the floor. The Dreamer then freed Ronald and Lark from the chains keeping them bound only for them to gently land on their feet in order to rush behind him and he then slowly turned around as the other Alices moved into a circle with him before they all took hands with one another. The Alices sent their energy to the Dreamer through the hand-contact, the energy colored accordingly to their signature colors, while Iah kept Atsu at bay by releasing a blast of his energy that collided with Atsu's own and the energy blasts pushed against one another only to find no balance. The Dreamer then began to glow a bright white that slowly consumed each Alice before vanishing quickly to reveil that they were all now gone without a trace and Atsu quickly turned his head to see this, then he glared hatefully at Iah before harshly sending him across the room with the blast of his energy and he angrily walked towards him with a deep growl rumbling in his throat. Iah landed on the ground with a faint thud and he pushed himself up from the ground to see his master's clawed feet and he slowly looked up at Atsu only to have his throat harshly grabbed too quick for him to react.

"You think I can't kill you? I only need one of your hearts to stop beating in order to send you to the other side with Anthea...the other will just freeze itself until it finds a new owner. Besides, I have a battle I must attend to, and I can't do it empty-handed...I was planning on absorbing the Alices and the Dreamer, but I have a better idea. You saw that woman...didn't you?" Atsu said softly in a sensual way, the normal way he talks when trying to be threatening.

Iah silently nodded despite his struggle for air and the grip Atsu had on his throat.

"I've got an army of my spawn growing inside her as we speak...it won't take me but a moment to absorb them the way that I'm going to absorb you...you ungrateful s***! I gave you everything and this is the thanks that I get...?" Atsu hissed before sending Iah flying across the room once more.

Iah landed with a louder thud against another wall before collapsing to the ground with blood dripping from his lips and his spinal cord disfigured.

"I'm going to enjoy this more than you will, Iah. Say "hello" to Anthea for me...will you? I think I miss her taste the most...the taste of fear and shame for failing her master. I wonder what you'll taste like..." Atsu said softly as he slowly stood over Iah with a swaying tail.

The next sound the filled the room was Iah's painful cries blended with the tearing of flesh and liquid sounds and the wall Iah was still against was painted crimson along with the floor that had a large puddle of blood surrounding Iah and under him, then Atsu silently began digging into Iah's opened chest cavity once his former assistant became motionless and silent only to raise his hands once he held his blackened heart in his chest that beated harder and slower than a human heart, "If my big brother thinks that he's going to be the only one to fight with a heart...then he's got another thing coming...heh, heh..."


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty One

"I don't think he's coming..." Yugi said softly.

"He has no choice..." Atemu replied while slowly swaying his tail.

"You keep saying that..." Kaiba said with his arms crossed.

A black fog slowly began to settle on the ground up to the men's knees and a rumble gently shook the earth underneath their feet before Atsu silently emerged from the fog with his wings larger than normal size, his fangs harder to conseal, his eyes glowing a brighter crimson, his claws on his fingers and toes longer and more sinister looking, his tail longer as well, and a third eye was opened on his forehead with black instead of where the white should be and the iris a bright crimson. The seven guardians all appeared at once from Atem's deck and silently formed a line behind the four men that stood their ground before Atsu even as he silently stopped his stroll across the battlefield from them, then Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra appeared behind their brethern with superior roars and growls that sent a wave of holy power sweeping the black fog back towards Atsu who barely budged from the force. It was at this moment that Atemu noticed that Atsu was blood-stained from face to his toes and his grin was more sinister than what he remembered and Atemu tensed slightly before looking over as Atem took a step forward with Yugi instantly following suit without a sign of hesitance as Atsu remained perfectly still other than his tail swaying back and forth in an amused manner. Bastet spoke out in Egyptian that Atsu would fail once again in his quest for power and that she didn't need to be the deity of time to know that Anubis was howling for him in the underworld, then Atsu began to chuckle darkly and then threw his head back to laugh as the black fog slowly returned onto the battlefield while the sounds of dark growls and grunts could be heard within the fog. Anubis' army slowly appeared from the black fog, jackal-headed warriors with a body stature and arms and torso like men, but their legs were oddly shaped like Atsu and Atemu's, like dog legs, and their fingers and toes were clawed, their fangs were fully bared in mid-growl, their head-dresses made of gold and saphire while being under their pointed ears, their eyes a bright crimson with no irises or pupils, their torsos muscular along with their arms and legs. Their golden wrist cuffs and ankle cuffs glistened brightly in the light from Ra and their tunics went down to mid-thigh and looked aged.

"...You think I came alone? I ran into an old friend on the way here...he let me borrow his army in exchange for Atem's soul, which he says that he'll put on pedastal. Oh, and by the way, brother...Anubis said hi..." Atsu said in his sensually threatening voice.

The duel disks of all three duelists suddenly sparked violently to the point where they all let their duel disks fall off their arms before looking foward as the Anubis army rushed forward towards them only to be stopped by Maahes' powerful roar that stopped them in their tracks from magma forming in front of them and Atem quickly ordered the three higher deities of Egypt to attack in unison to waste away the army of dog-soldiers without a struggle, then their attacks ceased once no soldier was left and Atsu began to chuckle darkly as he questioned if they believed that defeating him was going to be that easy. The soldiers then pulled themselves out of the ground with deadly growls and doggish grunts and some of their flesh was missing from the attacks that had hit them with their bones visible and some muscle and tissue exposed before they suddenly began to roar painfully as black strings of energy stabbed themselves into their spinal cords in order to pull them back towards Atsu. Atemu gritted his fangs realising what Atsu was planning and he flapped his wings powerfully to shoot himself into the air and he swiped his arms in the air to release slashes of his energy downward in order to cut the strings of energy, then Atsu sharply glared up at him in response and vanished in a cloud of black smoke. The dog soldiers rushed at the group on the ground once more only to be stopped once more by the deities of Egypt, including the seven guardians the group had awakened, while Kaiba and Yugi kept their eyes on Atemu who kept his eyes searching for his brother and he widened his eyes feeling Atsu's presence behind him, but he wasn't given any time to react before a blast of Atsu's energy quickly sent him to the ground with a burning hole in his back that gave off crimson smoke. Atemu pushed himself off the ground slightly only to be stopped by Atsu ramming him back into the dirt by slamming his clawed feet into the hole he'd created and the elder of the duo released a painful sound that made Yugi flinch in discomfort and Kaiba and Atem to cringe slightly.

"I told you once...you're not going to win this battle this time, brother. You think absorbing your own blood was going to give you enough power to defeat me? You're sourly mistaken. Just look at you...I haven't even given off much of an effort and you're already bleeding faster than you can breathe..." Atsu said darkly in his sensual voice.

A bright golden light suddenly blinded Atsu before he quickly turned his head to see the seven guardians beginning to merge themselves together and he widened his eyes angrily after remembering that this was the same technique that ended his life, then Atemu suddenly vanished from under him in order to hold Atsu where he was with his tentacles that broke away from Atsu's quickly spread wings and the younger of the duo charged at Atemu with fangs bared. Atemu defended with a barrier of his energy that collided with Atsu's own and the two energies gave off violent sparks of electricity and Atemu reminded Atsu that the only reason he was successful last time in almost bringing the end of the world was the beast he had slain himself from the inside out. Atsu angrily pushed against Atemu in response before letting out a painful roar as he was blasted from behind with holy energy and Atemu quickly flew himself into the air only to release a blast of his own energy downward, this causing a bright light to consume the land before fading moments later to reveil Atsu lying motionless on the ground and the dog soldiers faded into black sand that was sent through the gentle wind. Atemu gently landed on the ground beside Atsu in order to kneel down beside his younger brother and he slowly gathered Atsu into his arms and rose from the ground into a stand, then he slowly looked over towards the group to see the seven guardians seperate themselves and ascend to the heavens while thanking the Pharaoh while Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra vanished into his deck and he slowly walked over to Atem and the other two men before they all looked towards the center of the battlefield to see the spirits of Atem and Heba embracing one another in brotherly reunion. Atemu softly explained that Atem's true spirit had never left this place, but had stayed and waited for Heba to find him in order for them to re-united and also that Heba had been sleeping within Yugi the way a piece of Atem had slept within his future self.

"They're no different than you two...the only difference is, they know for sure that they are brothers...you two are still un-sure." Atemu added softly.

"Well...it's not that I'm not sure...it's just, " Yugi said softly as he looked up at Atem, who was silently looking back at him, "I always looked at you as more of a...fatherly figure...than a brother."

Atem smiled slightly, "No one ever said you couldn't think of me that way."

Yugi smiled back slightly at him and looked at Atemu, "What happens to you now?"

"Me? I'm going to make ammends with my mother and we can be a family...all of us..." Atemu replied, looking down at Atsu in his arms who still remained motionless.

"I hope everything works out for you..." Atem said softly.

"Me too...hopefully, she'll let me apologise for what I said." Atemu replied as he walked past the brothers towards the bridge.

Kaiba silently followed him without a word and Atem slowly looked back over to the spirits with Yugi to see that they were no longer locked in their embrace, but looking at each other with a warm smile and they looked over at their future selves before silently vanishing in a golden light that traveled into both of their chests. Atem and Yugi then looked at one another with matching smiles and they embraced one another brotherly with sighs of content that the evil was over and they held the embrace for a few moments that seemed to drain along like hours, then they slowly broke the embrace to walk together towards the bridge where Rona quickly rushed over and Yugi caught her in his arms with her own arms quickly and tightly going around him while Atem glanced over to see Carina and Kaiba locked in their own embrace. Rona then slowly moved over to embrace Atem around his neck and the ex-Pharaoh returned the embrace gently by lowering slightly more to her height before slowly releasing her a few moments later while commenting that she was perfect for Yugi since they were close to the same height and he received a gentle and playful punch to his arm from his younger sibling. The group all entered the vehicle except Atemu, who silently vanished with his brother in his arms, and Kaiba drove them back to the hotel where Cameron and Travis were waiting outside with Ann in the middle of them and the canine quickly rushed over to glomp Yugi onto the ground while attempting to lick him to death as the two oldest Ambrosia siblings hugged their younger sister gently. Ann calmed down after a moment and Yugi gently scratched her ears lovingly while Atem knelt down to gently rub the top of her head as she wagged her tail happily to the attention she received, then she slowly stood from her owner to move over to Rona only to receive a gently scratch to her head and Atem helped Yugi stand from the ground while trying not to chuckle seeing Yugi wipe his face clean with the back of his hand.

"You think Atemu's going to be okay?" Yugi asked.

"He said he was going to make amends with his mother...not go through a mine-field..." Kaiba replied.

"Someone sounds cranky...is it past someone's bed-time?" Atem asked sarcastically while looking over at the billionair.

"Bite my billion-dollar worth a**..." Kaiba said irritatedly as he made his way into the hotel while flipping the bird.

"...Something tells me that he didn't think this trip was worth it..." Yugi said softly.

"I think it's the heat getting to him finally...he's not accustomed to it like you and I are." Atem replied with his arms slowly crossing over his chest.

Yugi rolled his eyes, "Maybe...come on, let's go get packing to go home."

Rona slowly followed the men into the hotel where the other four Alices, including her brother, were waiting in the lobby and she widened her eyes in both shock and surprise before rushing over to them where Ronald embraced her tightly as the others moved in to initiate a group hug while Yugi and Atem watched from their place by the door, then the Alices slowly seperated and Rona kept her embrace with Ronald for abit longer and slowly released him as well after a few moments, "You're all okay!"

"We had to fight a battle ourselves...but, we never lost hope that you were still alive. If it wasn't for Iah, we wouldn't have been able to re-unite with you." Scarlet replied softly.

"I'm so happy to see you all are okay. What happened to your bandages?" Rona asked, now noticing that all of the bandages on the other Alices were removed.

"The Dreamer told us that he had no reason to punish us all any longer, so he took the off." Lark replied.

"He didn't forget about you, though..." Scarlet said softly as she slowly moved in front of Rona to gently pull her loosened bandages off of her face.

Rona gasped faintly as she felt her fully-exposed face, then hugged onto Scarlet's mid-section tightly with Scarlet gently holding her to her in the same tight manner and the Red Alice gently ran her fingers through Rona's blonde hair before slowly releasing her when she began to gently pull away in order to move over to Yugi where she hugged onto him gently while he gently returned it whole-heartedly, "I hope you don't mind me going home with them..."

"I don't mind at all...they're your family. Besides, we're all going to the same place. I'll see you at Domino." Yugi replied softly, earning himself a proud nod from Atem.

Rona gently kissed his cheek, "I love you..."

"I love you too..." Yugi said softly as she pulled away from him to look at him.

Rona gently kissed his lips before pulling away from him once more in order to move over to the Alices and Yugi looked up at Atem to see him looking back down at him in a brotherly manner, then the two siblings slowly went back to the hotel room with Ann following behind closely once the Alices vanished together and Yugi silently packed his things while Atem sat beside the window with his hand on Ann's head as she looked out the window with him. Yugi then slowly zipped his suitcase closed and slowly sat down on the bed with Ann slowly moving between his legs to sit down on the carpet where he gently took a hold of her ears in order to gently massage them in a circling manner and he looked at Atem to see him still looking out the window thoughtfully with the sun giving his tanned skin an orange-like color. Atem slowly exited the room with Yugi once the younger male was finished packing and Ann slowly followed behind them closely down the hall and down the stairs into the hotel lobby where the others were waiting for them. The flight home was silent between the two spikey-haired siblings and the only sound in the plane was the sound of the engines in the air-craft as well as the whispering between Carina and the Kaiba brothers and Atem closed his eyes to try and get some sleep after hiding his slight exaughstion from using the powers of his Millenium Puzzle too much until he felt Yugi entangle his hand with his own, this making the ex-Pharaoh look over to the younger-looking male to see Yugi with his head back against his own seat with his eyes closed and Atem then looked down at their hands to gently return the gentle grip Yugi was putting on his own hand before laying his head back once again. The two brothers slept in unison beside each other until the gentle landing of the plane awoke Yugi and he looked around slightly to find the plane was landed at the Domino City Airport.

"Atem...Atem, we're home." Yugi whispered while gently shaking the ex-Pharaoh awake.

Atem hummed in reply tiredly as he slowly blinked his eyes open to look over at Yugi with a slight glare and it slowly faded once his eyes drifted over to the window, then he forced himself out of his seat alongside Yugi and Yugi helped him down the aisle by having Atem's arm across his shoulders while they walked together down the walkway. Once out of the plane, the two brothers walked around the plane where a flight attendant was letting Ann out of her cage and Little Ann rushed over to the two spikey-haired twins where she jumped up on her two hind legs with a front paw on each of their abdomens. Atem lightly ran his hand along her head while Yugi gently scratched one of her ears and he looked up at the ex-Pharaoh to see that he no longer looked tired, but Yugi knew better and had a feeling Atem had been hiding his exaughstion since Egypt. The three of them walked with the others in the group towards Kaiba's awaiting limo and the two eldest Ambrosia siblings walked towards Travis' truck while Carina got into Kaiba's limo along with the males and Ann while Kaiba's assistant loaded the luggage into the back, then Yugi looked over a few moments later to see Atem had gone right back to sleep and he rolled his eyes slightly while giving out an "I knew it" sigh. Meanwhile, in Egypt, Atemu looked down at the infant he had lain within Anthea's stomach as he giggled and reached up for his father only for him to gently hold the infant against his chest while holding the back of his son's head gently.

"You have such beautiful children, Atemu...I'm so proud of you." Zira said softly while gently stroking the outside of a pulsing pod that she was holding grandmotherly in her arms.

"I know, mother...I just hope nothing goes wrong this time with Atsu." Atemu replied while looking at the buldge in his mother's scorpion-half of her body.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see...I can't make any promises, son. Just like I couldn't promise your father at the time that you two would make it." Zira replied softly.

"I just hope she forgives me for what'd I done." Atemu said softly as he looked at the pod that his mother was holding.

"Dear, I hardly think she could hate you after you've given her another chance at life through re-birth. That means you love her, and I know your love is sincere." Zira replied as she carefully laid the pod down beside Atemu while he was sat against the cave wall.

Atemu gently placed a hand on the pod that wasn't busy holding his son, "I hope not...I really had no other choice after what I'd given her from the beginning."

"Every daughter just wants to be with her father...I would know. I wanted my father for a long time, but he never came for me. You're giving her a chance for something that I never had." Zira said softly with a slight smile.

Atemu said nothing for a long while with his eyes never leaving the pod that held his reborn daughter, Kesi, and he then looked over at his son to see that the infant had fallen asleep against his shoulder and he sighed slowly while gathering the pod into his other arm in order for him to hold it gently against his chest in a fatherly manner, "We're going to be a family again soon...all of us..." 


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty Two

Later that night, Yugi and Rona were locked in a deep kiss with Rona laid down underneath Yugi while her hands roamed up and down his back and occasionally gripped his shirt when their tounges met within her cavern that intoxicated Yugi with the taste of sweet honey to the point where he was trembling above her with each step in the dance their tounges were entwined in, then the kiss was slowly broken in order for him to sit up ontop of her in a slow manner and she watched with slightly glowing golden eyes as he removed his top before she slowly rose onto her knees in front of him. She gently traced the slight muscles that had remained, despite Yugi losing his Vampire DNA, with her fingertips and the yellow nail-polish on her nails that lightly grazed against his skin glistened in the moonlight seeping into the room through the skylight above them where the full moon watched over them, as if peaking in at their dirty deed. Rona closed her eyes while listening to each sharp intake of breath he took with each deeper graze of her nails along his skin she purposely placed and he slowly brought his hands up to un-tie the fabric ties keeping her dress closed while she leaned forward to his neck only to gently bite down on the skin at the crook of his neck which forced a groan of approval as he held her closer to him, then he gently laid her down on his bed where he carefully pulled her dress off as if he was undressing a porcelain doll and she slowly brought her arms up over her un-developed chest after he had done so. Yugi lightly ran his fingertips along the outside of one of her thighs that were borth currently pressed gently against his waist since her legs were slightly bent and the moonlight, in his eyes, gave her more of a dollish appearance where she lay with her blonde hair spread out underneath her head, her fully exposed eyes glistening in the gaze of the moon, her skin gaining a porcelain color to it from the moonlight. He gently removed her underwear of black lace that slid easily with just his fingertips guiding it down her thighs and down her shins until she obediantly moved her legs up to move out of them before the silently hit the floor with Yugi's top and her dress.

"Do you still trust me with this? I'll understand if you're too scared..." Yugi said softly in reassurance.

"There was a reason that you and I are together...I think we've gotten close enough to where we don't have to just a PG-13 relationship, don't you?~" Rona purred with her arms still over her chest, though not tightly enough to where she was constricting what hid underneath.

Yugi chuckled faintly at her response as he slowly hovered over her and he slowly leaned down to kiss her lips gently only to have her eagerly, and deeply, respond with her tounge extending out once he pulled away and he then carefully kissed her open-mouthed in order for their tounges to meet in-between while his hands slowly slid along her sides and waist in an up-and-down manner just as her hands were becoming occupied with his shoulder-blades. Rona switched places with him without the kiss being broken before her lips and pearly whites moved to his neck and shoulder as her hands eagerly and teasingly explored her boyfriend's chest and Yugi groaned softly in response to the treatment while arching his body into her touch, his own hands gripping onto the sheets as her lips and loving teeth moved down to his chest and down even further to his abdomen where the biting stopped before the teasing tounge motions began. Yugi opened his closed eyes to stare up at the ceiling as Rona carefully un-latched his belt before the button and zipper of his pants were next to open and he obediantly lifted his hips slightly off the bed for her to be able to lower them to a desired height, then he looked slowly at Rona as she moved back ontop of him where they both shared a deep, passionate kiss and Yugi slowly regained his postion ontop of her before slowly breaking the kiss in order for them both to look into each others eyes with Rona's arms slowly wrapping his neck in a slightly nervous manner and Yugi slightly shifted ontop of her without removing his hands from the matress. Rona then gasped softly while gripping onto Yugi's neck abit tighter without causing discomfort and Yugi winced faintly in response to the sudden electricity that shot through him and Rona both from Yugi gently entering her. He opened his slightly clenched eyes to see Rona staring up at him with loving passion mixed with very small tears at the shocking sensation and he carefully brushed them away with his thumbs, then she gave a loving kiss that he equally returned and they shared another deep, passionate kiss.

Meanwhile, Atem was occupied downstairs on the couch with reading one of Solomon Muto's journals from the expedition he went on where he found the Millenium Puzzle and he glanced up at the television, that was currently on low volume, occasionally without his attention being too off topic. He lifted his head completly only after hearing a gentle knock at the door and slowly closed the journal to gently place it on the table before slowly standing from the couch, then he walked slowly into the former game-shop portion of the house with Little Ann following him closely and he blinked in confusion seeing Scarlet waiting patiently at the front door, only her dress was a normal-styled dress that edged her form perfectly and was made of silk, her gloves were only wrist high, but her hat and veil were still in place along with her high-heels and pantyhose. Atem had to admit that there was nothing about Scarlet that didn't express her feminism and beauty and he also got a feeling of slight stubborness while she retained a high level of intelligence. Dream or not, he'd be ignorant and mentally ill if he didn't admit that she had her own personal charm that he found to have an interest in and he buried that thought to deepest corridor of his mind as he walked closer to the door to open it slowly and she lifted her crimson eyes from the ground upon him doing so. It was hard for Atem not to tell her that her eyes looked a brighter crimson than normal, for he knew that the wrong thing could set her off, and he didn't notice that he was staring at her face for too long until her voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Atem?" Scarlet asked innocently.

"Uh, yes...everythings fine...is there something you need?" Atem asked while rubbing the back of his neck out force of habit.

"I was just wondering if Rona was doing alright. She hadn't called or left a note before she came here and the Dreamer was concerned is all." Scarlet replied.

"Yes, she's fine...her and Yugi are..."busy" upstairs. You can come in if you want for a little while." Atem said in reply.

"Oh, thank you...it is abit chilly. I didn't think about grabbing a coat before I left the mansion." Scarlet said as she slowly walked inside after Atem moved to the side to allow her inside.

"You're very welcome, Scarlet." Atem replied as he gently closed the door behind her.

Scarlet slowly removed her hat as she looked around curiously at the remains of the game shop, "Was this a shop before it was bare?"

"Yes it was. Solomon Muto, Yugi's grandfather, owned and ran a game shop before his passing. Yugi tried to keep the business going, but it wasn't enough to save it from falling." Atem said softly as he walked over beside her.

"That's so sad. It sounds like he cared about the shop just as his grandfather did. The poor lad." Scarlet said softly before walking into the living room.

Atem took one last look around at what remained of the game shop before he silently followed behind Scarlet into the living room and she looked around at her surroundings curiously while sitting down slowly on the couch, "I know it's not a mansion, but it's always been home to Yugi and...it has that feeling towards me as well."

"It's very homey. Very company friendly. Alot more friendly than the Dreamer's mansion. I swear, the man is almost obsessed with white rabbits. You cannot walk into a room in the mansion without seeing a painting of a white rabbit." Scarlet said while removing her gloves.

Atem chuckled as he sat down beside her, "I see. Maybe he's just a rabbit-lover."

Scarlet giggled faintly before noticing the journal on the coffee table and she gently picked it up to carefully examine it, "Is this a journal? It looks very aged."

"It's one of Solomon Muto's from when he was still an archiologist. That one there tells the tale of how he fought his way through the traps in my tomb to find this." Atem replied, putting a hand over his Millenium Puzzle.

"Oh, I see. This must be your favorite then." Scarlet said as she smiled slightly, opening the journal to where Atem left off.

Atem smiled and nodded his head slightly, "Mmhm. It is indeed one of my favorites of his journals. My second favorite is his first exhibition to King Tut's tomb."

Scarlet giggled faintly once more until something fell from the journal that landed gently on the ground, "Oh...what is that?"

"I don't know." Atem replied as he reached down to pick it up.

Atem slowly sat back up straight once he had the folded piece of paper in his hand and he slowly un-folded the paper to find that it was a newspaper clipping head-lined "BOY FOUND CHAINED IN FAMILY BASEMENT, PARENTS ARRESTED FOR MULTIPLE CHARGES" and he widened his eyes in disbelief seeing a black-and-white picture of what looked like a much younger Yugi hanging from wrist-chains with his head lowered. He could see bruises on the skin and it appeared that Yugi had a black-eye. Scarlet blinked as she saw the disbelief and rage begin to build up in Atem's eyes and she slowly leaned over to look down at the article before slowly putting a hand over her mouth as she read the article with the ex-Pharaoh:

"Seven-year-old Yugi Muto was a regular boy attending an everyday school and was the son that every parent wanted...except his own. The boy was found later this evening by concerned grandfather, Solomon Muto, after the worried family member entered the silent home in search for his grandson to carry out his previous plan to take the boy to his home and he immediatly called authorities after freeing the boy from his bonds. Deep, fresh gashes were found on the boy's back, apparently originating from a horse-whip that was found hanging from a hook nailed into one of the basement walls, and dark bruises were scattered everywhere on the boy's body, mostly face and lower-regions. Solomon immediatly alerted authorities and the police found many disturbing photos and video-tapes in the house of the abuse that occured in the home, the mother actually not being seen in any of them.

The father, Simon Muto, is employed as a factory-worker for the Domino City Oil Company and the mother, Nina Muto, works as a street-walker, collecting money that she claims to split with her husband, but during the day, she says, Yugi acts like a happy little boy and loves being able to play. Mrs. Muto caims that the abuse was never brought to her attention nor was she aware fully of the extent of the abuse, however Solomon, her father-in-law, expresses his doubts as to how she was not aware when Nina was the one who always brought little Yugi over to his house and there would be bruises on the boy's face that she couldn't clearly explain. Simon Muto was arrested and is now awaiting trial for child abuse, neglect, and, horrifyingly, possible child molestation and rape...word on wether or not the mother has been arrested is uncertain, but what is certain is that Solomon Muto will be caring for the boy the rest of his childhood."

Scarlet slowly looked at Atem to see his eyes still filled with the same shock, disbelief, and anger and she gently put a hand on Atem's arm, "Atem? Are you alright?"

"...How could someone...do such a thing...?" Atem said shakily, his hand that was resting on his knee slowly curling into a fist.

Scarlet frowned and looked at the article again, "...I don't know...surely a woman's maternal extinct would've said for her to stop whatever went on in that house..."

Atem said nothing further as he slowly leaned forward to set the article on the table and he placed his elbows on his knees to put his face in his hands in order for him to regain himself while Scarlet carefully picked up the article to look at the back, noticing the back of the article was regular paper, and she saw "Simon - Life in Prison" and "Nina - 10-15 years" written on the back in crimson ink. She carefully set the article back down before turning her attention back to Atem as she gently placed a hand on his back and her other hand on his arm, then she gently began to rub his tensed back without receiving a sound from the ex-Pharaoh until began to very faintly sniffle and he lowered his hands from his face to reviel the small, hot tears falling from his eyes. Scarlet slowly pulled a hankerchief out of one of her long sleeves to carefully dry Atem's tears and he blinked slowly seeing her calm composure instead of showing criticism or amusement to his distress, but he also silently enjoyed the feeling of the soft silk against his face with the warmth of her hand behind it. She slowly pulled her hand away once the tears were gone and turned her attention back to the journal only to blink slowly seeing a piece of paper poking out of the bottom of the journal, then Atem silently picked it up from the table to open it where the paper was sticking out and he found multiple folded-up newspaper articles where Solomon had stopped his journal entries about the archiologist life and begun a new set of entries half-way into the journal and Atem slowly picked up another article after placing the journal in his lap. The Red Alice picked up another one of the articles to un-fold it to find the black bold head line of a piece of front-page story and she looked over at Atem to see him recognizing what Solomon had done instantly and he moved abit forward to the edge of the couch to place his piece on the coffee table while Scarlet slowly placed her piece beside his to find that they matched.

They went through the pieces together to put together the large piece of the front page of the Domino Journal where the headline read "PARENTS OF ABUSED BOY BOTH FOUND GUILTY, FATHER GIVEN LIFE WITH DEATH PENALTY" and Atem frowned in disgust seeing a black-and-white picture of Simon Muto with his attorney. He looked just like Yugi, only he was fully matured with signs of drug-use in his face and in his eyes. The two people sitting on the couch silently read the article together:

"The trial of the parents of seven-year-old Yugi Muto has now ended with the father, Simon[23], getting life the death penalty while Nina Muto[21], the prostitute mother, received 30 years in a maximum security prison without parole. Solomon Muto[49], the distraught grandfather of the abused and neglected boy, was seen outside the court house after the sentence holding his grandson closely to him and he refused to comment on the sentencing. The photos and videos found in the home proved that not only was Simon Muto physically abusing his only child, but he also sexually and mentally abused his son along with his wife, Nina, but many in the city still believe strongly that her pain could never be used as an excuse for her letting the monster remain in the house. The abuse began when Yugi turned two-years-old, according to Nina, but the sexual abuse did not begin until three years later after he began to experiment with drugs and narcotics. Solomon made a statement that Nina would often avoid eye-contact with Solomon whenever he would question the bruises that began appearing on Yugi's body and he always knew that something was not right in the household, but he never became deathly concerned until he got a confession out of the boy: "Daddy hurts me."

Solomon Muto is now in custody of his grandson and claims that he will provide a quiet, stable life for his grandson, but whether Yugi will ever be able to forget this terrible day is beyond anyone's knowledge. According to Solomon, he had no idea that Simon was on drugs because of how distant he and his son became after Nina announced her pregnancy and Solomon accused Simon of abusing his new bride after seeing bruises on her when she was five-months pregnant. The grandfather also stated that, because of his occupation, it was hard for him to be involved in his grandson's life, but he never missed a birthday or a holiday and he rarely saw the bruises...but when he did, he instantly was on Nina since she was more at home during the day than Simon only to receive no straight answer. Police officials are currently transporting both the mother and father to their seperate prisons where they will carry out their sentences."

Atem stared at the picture on the page of a younger, yet slightly more aged, Solomon Muto holding his seven-year-old grandson close to him with a look of painful disbelief and he sighed slowly with his hands going through his hair while Scarlet resumed rubbing his back gently and slowly in a comforting manner, "I can't tell Yugi..."

"Why not? Shouldn't he know?" Scarlet asked softly.

Atem slowly shook his head, "...Solomon took this secret to his grave for a reason...Yugi would be devastated if he found out the truth."

Scarlet blinked slowly, then nodded slightly, "It would be best if he was not told the truth then...for Solomon's sake."

Atem nodded slightly in agreement without saying a word and looked over at her, "...Sorry I dragged you into this..."

"It's quite alright. You've made this an...interesting evening for me, to say the least. Nothing I would've ever expected less of you, Mr. Atem." Scarlet replied with a slight smile.

"...Seriously...?" Atem asked with a blink of his eyes, slight shock showing in his dark-violet orbs.

"Of course. I always like learning about people's dark secrets and history. It's a bad habit of mine, I'm afraid. I'm highly interested in yours, being an ancient Pharaoh after all with his memory still fresh." Scarlet replied with her smile growing abit wider.

Atem stared at her in complete disbelief and shock showing in his eyes and this forced a giggle out of her that forced Atem out of his thoughts and he blushed faintly while rubbing the back of his neck and she then silently helped him place the pieces of the newspaper back into the journal where they belonged before Atem stood slowly to place the journal back with it's brethern in the bookcase in the corner of the room, then he looked over his shoulder to see that Scarlet was patiently looking ahead at the television that was still on low-volume and set on the history channel and he silently walked back over to sit back down in his place. For awhile, the room was quiet as Atem struggled mentally to think of something else to talk about until Scarlet questioned his history and Atem looked up thoughtfully at the ceiling in thought as to where to begin with that story that he had almost forgotten about completly if it hadn't been for Yugi. He began with his and Heba's birth and worked his way through their childhood that they both spent under their father's wing until Aknamkadon's death when they were in pre-adolecense, then he went on through their teenage years until Atem's initiation into king-hood while Heba remained a Prince to the dynasty and Heba soon became ill after the death of Zorc which lead to the events that had brought himself, Yugi, Kaiba, and the others to Egypt in order to awaken the seven guardians of Egypt. His death led to Heba taking control over the kingdom shortly after and no-one seemed to notice the difference since Heba quickly matured himself into what appeared to be an exact replica of the former Pharaoh himself. Scarlet listened with complete interest and smiled slightly at the end of the tale before closing her eyes.

"There once was a young, handsome King of Egypt Whose power and high might knew no mortal bounds He shared royalty with his much younger sibling The brothers shared a bond that could never be broken

A deadly force loomed it's own way into the land of the Nile Where death split the two twins into two seperate worlds The twin left behind led the kingdom into the light He soon began to shift into a mirror image"

Atem chuckled softly, "That was good."

"It's scratchy, but it's all I could think of without a pen and paper." Scarlet replied with a nervous giggle.

"It's more clever than anything I could've ever come up with myself. You should be getting paid for theatre." Atem replied as he leaned back against the couch.

Scarlet blushed faintly, "Lark thinks that I put too much into our theatre performances. He thinks I'm a Nervous Ninny because everything in the performance has to be perfect and it has to be done a certain way otherwise I get angry and stubborn. Very un-ladylike of me, I know."

"Some people just strive for perfection...and Lark has nowhere to talk by the way he dresses." Atem said while looking over at her.

"Thank you very much! I was hoping someone would notice." Scarlet replied with her arms crossing over her chest, earning herself a soft chuckle from the ex-Pharaoh. 


	34. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty Three

Scarlet slowly stepped outside of the former game-shop part of the house and slowly turned to face Atem, who was standing in the doorway, "Thank you for this...interesting night. I'll see you at the next perfomance, yes?"

Atem smiled, "I'll try to be there, I promise."

"...May I ask you something, Mr. Atem, and will you be honest?" Scarlet asked.

"Of course." Atem replied.

"Is there a woman in your life currently?" Scarlet asked abit softer.

Atem blinked at the question, "Uh, no...not currently. Why do you ask?"

Scarlet smiled innocently, "No reason...goodnight."

Atem watched her walk down the sidewalk and he silently moved back into the house while closing the door gently in front of him, then he turned around to see Yugi standing in the entry-way to the living room with his arms closed and a slight grin on his face, "What?"

"She likes you, Atem. You like her too, you can't hide from me." Yugi replied playfully.

Atem blushed in slight embaressment and turned his head to avert eye-contact while Ann stared at him after seeing the break in the barrier, "I-I have no idea what you're talking about...!"

"Sure you don't, and I'm just seeing a fake blush on your cheeks. No, it's all in my head." Yugi sarcastically mocked.

"Shut up!" Atem growled, sulking slightly as the sound of Yugi's laughter erupted from the living room in response.

Atem then slowly relaxed his shoulders and his facial features as the memory of Scarlet's question filled his mind and he smiled slightly as he slowly exited the former game-shop portion of the house with Ann following him close behind from her dog-bed, his left hand switching off the lights as he passed the entryway. The next morning, he awoke on the couch to Ann sniffing his face and pawing at his back as gently as she could without causing discomfort and he slowly looked over his shoulder to be met with Ann's begging brown eyes, then he slowly closed his eyes while slowly sitting up on the couch and he slowly stood while mummblingly asking if she needed to do her buisness. Ann barked excitedly in reply while following Atem to the back-door of the house and he opened the back screen-door for her to race out into the small yard where she used the space to her advantage and Atem slowly walked over to the kitchen table to sit down where he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Rona slowly entered the room in one of Yugi's t-shirts that was slightly big on her despite Yugi being only abit taller than her and Atem opened his eyes slowly with his chin in one of his palms to be met with a bright smile and a "Good morning" that he returned whole-heartedly despite the tiredness in his voice. Yugi entered the room and ruffled Atem's hair playfully before being slapped away by a growling ex-Pharaoh and Yugi chuckled softly in response, then moved his attention to Rona by putting his hands on her waist and kissing her cheek from behind as she prepared breakfast while receiving a glare from Atem.

"You want some coffee, Atem? Might make you less cranky." Yugi asked mockingly.

"The only thing that will make me less cranky is if you aknowledge that I am not to be messed with in the morning." Atem warned.

Yugi chuckled softly as he got the coffee mix out of the cabinet anyway and Atem slowly stood to let Ann into the kitchen and she quickly rushed over to her water and food bowl to take in as much water as she could while Atem stared at her with a look, "...She must like to run around alot..."

"She does, especially in the morning. I'm surprised she woke you up with no problem." Yugi replied while focusing on the coffee.

"Bite me, Yugi..." Atem grunted with a scowl.

"C'mon, boys, play nice..." Rona said playfully.

"Yes, mommy." Yugi chuckled softly.

Atem silently sat at the kitchen table while Ann ran out of the room to get the newspaper and she returned only a few moments later to gently nudge it onto Atem's lap until he gently took it after turning towards her in his chair while using his free hand to gently rub her head in thanks, then he silently opened the newspaper and scanned through it silently as he placed his chin on the outside of one of his hands. Yugi slowly walked over to place a mug of coffee beside Atem and he looked over Atem's shoulder at the newspaper to see the Alices on the front page before Rona looked over Atem's other shoulder only to giggle softly when she saw the front page. Little Ann silently sat at Yugi's feet once he sat beside Atem at the table to read the paper with his older sibling and Rona passed around the finished breakfast once it was fully cooked, then the three of them ate breakfast together while commenting on different things in the paper that piked their interests and Yugi occassionally and "accidentally" dropped a piece of bacon only for Little Ann to catch it before it hit the floor between her canines that chomped on the meat gladly. After breakfast, they helped each other clean and put away the dishes before dressing into new clothing, Atem staying in his same clothing, and the three of them left the house with Ann tagging along at leash distance beside Yugi between the two spikey-haired males as they traveled to down-town Domino City where the safer community is and the clothing stores, antique shops, etc. are mostly located. Atem silently walked into a men's clothing store with Yugi following close behind while Rona waited outside with Ann and the two silently looked through the clothing as "Monster" by Disturbed played softly in the background, then Atem looked over as Yugi held a black top and a pair of leather pants in front of him only for Atem to raise an eyebrow at the pants that screamed "motorcycle rider" and the top that seemed to yell "Screw the rules, I have leather and you don't" across the chest.

"C'mon, Atem...remember everything that Tea made you try on when I organized that date?" Yugi asked tauntingly.

Atem narrowed his eyes at his younger sibling, "Don't forget that I got back at you for that you little-"

"C'mon, please? I promise you'll look good in this. It'll show off your Egyptian heritage even more than your face does.~" Yugi teased.

"Who would want to see all of that, Yugi?" Atem asked as he returned his attention dully back to the clothing selection.

"Well...Scarlet might be interested...~" Yugi said in a sing-songy voice as he held out the clothing and looked to the side innocently.

"...D*** you..." Atem grunted as he took the clothing from Yugi's hand on his way to the dressing room.

Yugi chuckled as he followed close behind Atem to the dressing room, "I wanna see it."

"Yeah, yeah." Atem grumbled once the curtain was closed.

Yugi waited patiently on a cushioned bench for Atem to get dressed into the outfit he picked for him and looked up once the curtain was slowly pulled open and he blinked as Atem stepped out in the outfit Yugi chose that consisted of the black top that showed more of his muscles than his regular top, black leather biker pants that showed the muscles of his legs and thighs slightly, and a black leather trench coat that had a jaw-bone length high collar and coat tail that went down to his heels, "...I look like a warlock..."

"Scarlet might be into that look, you never know." Yugi replied supportively.

Atem made a face as he pulled a corner of the collar of the trench coat, "Yugi...I'll wear the top and the pants...but, no trench coat...I look like a punk enough as it is..."

"Please, get the trench coat too? She might be into one of those dark prince types and this is the perfect outfit for that!" Yugi pleaded with his hands pressed together.

Atem blinked at him, "...where are you getting this from...?"

"Rona, where else?" Yugi replied simply.

Atem stared at him for a moment in still thought, then looked back down at his outfit, "...You swear you're not lying...?"

"Do I look like I'm lying, Atem? Plus, you know I can't lie to save my life...how long did we share a mind?" Yugi replied with his arms casually crossed.

"Fine...I'll get the trench coat..." Atem mummbled under his breath as he slowly turned to enter the dressing room before closing the curtain behind him with a grunt.

Yugi chuckled softly, "That's a good Pharaoh."

"Bite me, Yugi!" Atem growled from behind the curtain.

Yugi chuckled once more and waited for Atem to fully dress and exit the dressing room before standing from the bench in order to walk with his brother to the chasier counter where Atem silently laid the clothes on the glass while Yugi pulled out his wallet, then Atem looked over to his right seeing a trio of muscular, 6' tall men with sun-glasses, hooded black trench-coats, black long-sleeved shirts, black leather pants, and black biker boots, all of them having white hair, and hard mature faces, enter the store only to pass the two spiked-hair siblings from behind with Atem silently turning his head to stare at their backs with slightly narrowed eyes at the way the male on the further right of the group eyed at them. Yugi tried his hardest not to pay attention as the cashier walked up to them and began to scan the clothing and Atem slowly looked forward with his muscles still tensed. He had begun to relax as Yugi took the offered bag offered by the cashier that held the clothes after he had paid for them and Atem was stopped from following Yugi towards the exit from a heavy hand landing non-gently on his shoulder, this making him instantly look over his shoulder to see the same male who had glared at them now standing behind him with his bright crimson eyes glaring at the ex-Pharaoh through his sun-glasses. Atem glared back faintly with his dark-violet eyes as he waited for the man to say something or to make an act while Yugi kept looking between the both of them with a look of fear for his brother mixed with concern and Atem looked past the man to see the other two move behind their partner before his eyes went back to the man who still said nothing and kept his hand on Atem's shoulder, then the ex-Pharaoh looked down to see pearly-white claws instead of fingernails and he looked back up at the man without saying a word and without expressing any emotion. The man, without warning, hooked his arm around Atem's shoulders with his other arm going around Atem's chest over Atem's arms to keep him from pushing him off and Atem struggled as much as he could with how tightly the man was holding him before the ex-Pharaoh looked forward quickly to see Yugi being put in the same position and the cashier ducked behind the counter. Rona rushed in to help only to be stopped by the third man who had her pinned in the same manner and she retiliated by quickly turning around only to capture the man into staring into her golden eyes that glowed a bright yellow and this captured him in a hallucination where he was on a yellow path that is endless and she then captured him in yellow rose vines to free herself while Little Ann rushed forward to Yugi's rescue only to be caught by her leash by a fourth male who appeared out of nowhere, then she quickly turned around and latched her fangs onto his shoulder and she tore flesh as well as bone until he was weak enough to let her go.

Out of nowhere, the man holding Atemu ends up on the floor with a loud grunt and blood rushing out of his head from where a dent in his skull had formed and the same soon happened to the second man and Yugi fell to the ground from the man making a last second grab for him and he was then tackled by Ann who smothered him with kisses. Rona lowered onto the floor on her knees beside Yugi and looked up to see Carina standing over the second male with a steel baseball bat across her shoulders and a hand on the leather-padded handle and she smiled friendly at them as she kindly asked if they were all okay, to which they all replied with a nod. A few moments later, the group found themselves at the nearby park where Ann was happily running around in the grass while the group sat together under the shade of a large Sakura tree and Carina meanwhile was explaining that the men who had attacked them in the shop are part of an ancient race of Vampires, the Ambrosius Clan, with blood-ties to an ancient family from ancient Rome who took it upon themselves to spread their genes and blend with other races, including her own, to try and make Vampires immune to any weaknesses that they faced from every other race excluding their own. Carina explained that the Ambrosius Clan had something to do with the death of her father manner years ago and that they were the same Vampires that wanted her and her siblings dead, hence the reason she went into hiding under Seto Kaiba's roof until Ace came to find her once it was safe and the Ambrosius Clan retreated back to Rome, Italy.

"Aeolus Ambrosius, the decent of the long-lasting blood-line of his family and the head of the Clan, stands beside his younger sister, Calista Ambrosius, as the two remaining of the Ambrosius' that can continue the family blood-line, but Calista has a bad habit of making her lovers..."vanish without a trace" before she can give them sons and Aeolus is so picky on who he mates with, his women have no time to give him sons before they get kicked out. Anyway, I have no idea why they attacked you guys, other than to piss me off, but I want you guys to know that if they ever come after you guys again, I'm just a holler away." Carina said softly.

"Thanks, Carina. Really. We all appreciate you coming to save us." Yugi said in reply.

"It was no problem, really. My dad always told me that if you can't stab a vamp in it's heart, either crush it's skull to where the brain is mush, or shoot it in the head...and I had a baseball bat." Carina said with a faint chuckle.

"Speaking about your dad, if your dad was such a really skilled gunslinger, how was he able to get killed if he had his guns on his person and they were loaded?" Rona asked curiously.

"Nobody knows...Daddy was killed during the night after telling Mama that he was going outside to think...he never came back inside, but Mama went to sleep thinking he was just having a moment. The next morning, she went out to tend to the lawn and found Daddy face-down in the dirt with silver arrows in his head and in his chest. The thing that I can tell you though is that...I think he knew he was going to die...because the day before his assasination, me and him were alone in the house while Mama was out shopping, Cameron and Travis were tending the farmland, and me and him were watching tv while I sat in his lap and played with his guns like he always used to let me as long as the safety was on since I didn't know where it was. He told me, "Baby Girl, if anything was to happen to your old Daddy, I want you to promise me something." I said, "What is it, Dad?" He said, "I want you to carry my guns with you at all times if anything were to happen to me before your grown up and ready to leave on your own...promise me, sugar." I said, "I promise, Daddy." Thing is, I never knew just what he meant by asking me that question until we had to bury him at the cemetary." Carina replied softly, putting a hand over the gun in the right holister.

"That must've been hard..." Atem said softly, knowing just how it feels to lose a father at a young age as well as Yugi did.

"Oh, Mom was so broken. Travis and Cameron just stood there in shock. I just...I was gone. I wanted to get out of this world and into my own, trying to tell myself that this was all a dream and that my world was the reality...but after awhile, the feeling of loneliness from missing the smell of Daddy's cologne to hide the chemical he used to clean his guns began to sink in even after it'd been years after his death. I still remember what his cologne smelled like...warm cheasnut mixed with forest pine...his hair always smelled like a sun-kissed horse's mane." Carina replied softly, her eyes looking forward as if drifting off.

Atem and Yugi silently looked at each other in a mental question, asking one another if either of them remembered what their own father smelled like only for both of them to give each other a blank reply.

"I'm not the only one who misses him, but I'm the only one who still talks about him. Travis tries to pretend it never happened and Cameron puts on a mask to pretend Daddy's still here as if he never died, that he's just missing or something. Mom moved on like me and even though she doesn't like to talk about Daddy, she smiles everytime she says something sweet about him." Carina went on, a faint smile on her smile as she continued looking forward in a dream-like manner.

"I see...it only takes one death to hurt an entire family." Atem said softly.

"Mmhm...I never heard from my uncle Nathan ever since Daddy died...I just hope the Vampires didn't get him too..." Carina replied just as softly. 


End file.
